


Little Bird

by Kiki242



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Birds of Prey, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-04
Updated: 2015-10-08
Packaged: 2018-03-16 08:49:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 27,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3481979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiki242/pseuds/Kiki242
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This story is about Dinah Laurel Lance's road to fully becoming the Black Canary. This story will include her being trained by the one and only Lady Shiva and BoP action.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Get up, Little Bird", Lady Shiva's voice was soft but stern. She turned her back and walked away from her student who struggled to make it back to her feet. Dinah Laurel Lance sat on her knees for a moment heaving from the blow she received to the stomach. Lady Shiva, who walked some feet away from Laurel stopped and turned to look at her, noticing that Laurel had yet to make it back to her feet. "Get. Up", her voice became colder and stronger. She did not like weakness coming from her students. After managing to get air into her lungs, Laurel forced herself to her feet and she meekly took a fighting stance. That made Shiva smirk.

"We're going again?" Laurel asked in a weak voice. She didn't know how much more of this she could take. Every part of her body ached, she could hardly stand, and every breath was a struggle.

Lady Shiva gave Laurel a once over. She took note that Laurel's face slightly bruised and there was a cut on her cheek dripping with blood. She did a number on her pupil. As usual. "No, you have had enough today. Go get cleaned up and rest", Shiva watched as Laurel came out of her stance and as she relaxed with relief. While holding her still aching stomach, Laurel bowed to her teacher before entering the house, moving slowly as she went. She then gingerly made her way to the bathroom. Once there, she retrieved the first aid kit from under the cabinet to tend to her wounds. She dealt with her face first, looking into the mirror as she did so. She cleaned her wounds and bandaged her cheek. Once she was finished, she pulled up her shirt slightly to see the damage done her torso.

Her ribs were purple and bruised. Which didn't come as a surprise since as they hurt like a bitch. After rolling her shirt down and fixing it back, Laurel slowly made her way to the kitchen to retrieve ice for her ribs. On her journey, she took in her surroundings. Lady Shiva had a small and simple two bedroom house that was lost in the middle of nowhere in China (think countryside). When she reached the kitchen, she was met with ice packs at the ready sitting on the counter. She grabbed them and made her way to the small table sitting in the dining room. Once there she pulled a chair and sat down. Laurel laid back in the chair, placed an ice pack on her ribs and sighed. A few minutes later Lady Shiva entered the dining room carrying two cups of tea. She sat at the small table across from Laurel and placed one of the cups in front of her.

Shiva stared intently at Laurel with her cold, almond shaped eyes. Her stare made Laurel uncomfortable and self-conscious. Laurel fidgeted slightly and sat up straighter in the chair. Shiva was always able to make her feel on edge. That was how it had been for the few months that Laurel had been under Shiva's tutelage. They rarely spoke, Shiva didn't display much emotion, and she scared the hell out of Laurel. Shiva was perhaps the most dangerous woman on the planet and saying that she had a sketchy history was an understatement. There was no telling how much blood was on her hands with her assassin past. The woman took the lives of countless master martial artists with her bare hands. She was also a mercenary for hire and a former valued member of the League of Assassins. It was rather surprising that they weren't hot on her heels.

"You are improving," Shiva stated simply, voice broke Laurel out of her reverie. Laurel met her gaze in surprise. It sure didn't seem like she was improving. Every single sparring session was child's play to Lady Shiva. She beat Laurel with such embarrassing ease.

"Sure doesn't seem like it", Laurel replied softly. She tried with all her might to take in all of the knowledge and information Shiva poured into her. But when it came to putting it to practice during their sparring sessions, it didn't seem to show.

"You are learning and putting that knowledge to use. I see it when we spar and I see it when you are training on your own. I am simply much, much better than you" Shiva told her. Laurel smiled a bit at that. That was rather encouraging unlike the results of their one-sided sparring sessions. Lady Shiva was also not bragging, she was not one for that. Her skill set and capabilities were what they were. "Finish your tea, Little Bird. Then go clean up and rest. Tomorrow, you will train by yourself. I want you to PT (physical training), and work on your sword work. There will be no sparring. You need to heal and I will be gone for tonight and most of tomorrow", with that, Shiva got up and left the dining room. A few moments later Laurel heard the front door open and shut close, signaling Shiva's departure. After finishing her tea, Laurel got up from the table and placed both her and Shiva's cups in the sink.

She then made her way to her bedroom to grab some clothes and then made her way to the bathroom for a much needed shower. After entering the bathroom, she turned the shower on to its hottest temperature. She then stripped down and stepped into the water. She sighed and closed her eyes. Relishing in the hot water cascading down on her body. Laurel thought back as to how she ended up here on other side of the planet, far away from her home town.

It was an accumulations of things really. From needing to improve her skills, to losing a teacher in an injured Ted (a warmth spread through her at the thought of him), to needing some space from the team while they worked with the man who killed Sara (that thought never failed to piss her off), and finally the fallout with her father. After finally telling him about Sara, the lies, and about dressing up as her deceased sister, he exploded. So much to the point that she feared he would have a heart attack. He yelled at her in anger and broke down in sadness. When she tried to console him, he pushed her away. Laurel didn't blame him. What she did was horrible (C'mon y'all that voice thing was a bit too far).

The fear of losing her father had driven her to do things that destroyed the close relationship she had with him. Laurel shook herself out of her thoughts and finished her shower. She climbed out and slowly dried off and dressed, careful not to irritate her injured ribs. Once finished she left the bathroom and made her way to her room. When she entered her room she immediately climbed into bed and got under the covers. Apart from her injuries, she was very much exhausted. Shiva had her training from the crack of dawn to the late afternoon. She needed to rest for tomorrow as well as re surge her batteries. She was going to go hard at it as any other day despite her mentor's absence. Shortly after climbing into bed, Laurel drifted to sleep.

The next morning, Laurel was up and about before the sun rise. After breakfast, she began her day with hard, physical training. That included running for six miles, hundred push-ups, hanging sit ups, work on the pull up bar, and hundred lunges while carrying sandbags. She started off with her run. Running along the acres of land that Lady Shiva owned on the country side of China. Once she was finished, Laurel ran back to the yard of the house where she did her push-ups, alternating between different types. Standard, clapping, and even handstand push-ups. She then made her way to the side of the house to where the pull-up bar was located. She did pull-ups then pulled herself completely up over the bar, holding the position for as long as she could. Once she was finished, Laurel retrieved a sand bag from the back of the house and did her lunges in the yard. By now exhaustion was well set into her muscles but she pressed on. On the last lunge, she dropped the bag and laid down in the grass. She closed her eyes and let her exhausted muscles relax. After a moment, her eyes drifted open and she looked up into the sky. It was some time after mid-afternoon. Laurel felt her stomach grumbled and decided this was the best time for a lunch break.

She got up and dusted herself off, brushing off grass and dirt from her tank top and baggy pants. Once she was finished, Laurel made her way inside of the little house. First, she went to the bathroom to clean herself off. Her hands were dirty and she was covered in sweat. After washing herself up, Laurel made her way to the kitchen to fix herself a late lunch. She quickly ate and cleaned up the dishes she used. She then went to the weapons cabinet that was sitting in the living room. She opened it and retrieved a katana. With the weapon in hand she went back outside the house to practice with it. She walked out a little ways from the house and came to a stop. She unsheathed the weapon and watched as it glistened in the waning sunlight. After placing the sheath down near her, Laurel began to practice. She went through many different movements that Shiva had taught her. Slowly and effortlessly, she made her way through them.

Laurel could tell that she had come a long way in her swordsmanship and her physical shape. When she first arrived, she couldn't even make through half the day before collapsing in exhaustion. She could hardly do any of the exercises that Shiva had instructed her to do. Now, she could make it through them with some sort of ease (they were still pretty hard but that was the point). She was also now familiar with different weapons. The main ones being the katana and the Bo staff. The katana being something that Lady Shiva insisted on and the Bo staff being something she wanted to learn in order to honor her sister.

At first, she struggled greatly to use the weapons correctly. She fumbled and stumbled about with them. But over time, she became familiar with them. Learning how to use them and what movements to use with them. For the past few weeks, Shiva had been teaching her more and more advanced moves. After two hours of practicing, Laurel looked up into the sky and took note that the sun was setting. She decided that it would be best to call it a day and rest up for tomorrow. It would more than likely be spar heavy and she was still feeling the effects of yesterday. With that in mind Laurel picked up the sheath that belonged to the katana, sheathed the weapon and headed back to the house. Walking up to the house, she noticed that the door was left open. That set Laurel on edge. She always closed the door when leaving or entering the house. Shiva did the same as well. An intruder had entered the house.

Laurel unsheathed the weapon in her hand and her body tensed as she slowly approached the front door. She dropped the sheath as to hold the weapon with both hands. When she made it to the front door, she slowly opened door. She felt a movement come from her left side and she reacted immediately by whipping the sword towards that movement. She didn't strike the intruder but ended up holding the sword in the face of an unarmed Asian woman. The woman looked at her in surprise. "Who are you", Laurel asked, her voice strong. The woman held up her hands but did not answer Laurel's question.

"You're Laurel Lance", the woman said in awe. Laurel lowered her weapon slightly, taken aback by the stranger knowing her name. She'd never seen this woman in her life.

"How do you know my name? Who are you?" Laurel questioned.

"I am not here to hurt you. I know you because I saved your ex-boyfriend Oliver Queen. I helped him after his fight with Ra's Al Ghul. My name is Tastsu Yamashiro"


	2. Chapter 2

Laurel looked at Tatsu in shock. She remembered Oliver explaining to her as to how he survived the duel. Laurel deciding that the woman wasn't a threat, lowered her sword completely and left it dangling by her side in her right hand. "What are you doing here?" Laurel questioned.

"I could ask you the same thing. This is quite some ways from Starling City", Tatsu replied giving Laurel a look of suspicion.

"It's a long story", Laurel retorted before making her way to the weapons cabinet in the living room with Tatsu on her tail. Once in the living room, Laurel put the katana back in its rightful place while Tatsu sat on the small couch that was sitting opposite of the cabinet. Laurel turned around and noticed that Tatsu had made herself rather comfortable. "You seem to be rather comfortable here. Considering who owns this house I find that to be rather surprising", Laurel stated. Tatsu smiled a bit at that.

"I have a bit of history with Sandra", Tatsu replied simply.

"Sandra?"

"Lady Shiva. Her real name is Sandra Wu-san" Tatsu answered. That took Laurel by surprise. She never gave much thought to what Lady Shiva's real name could be, actually. It was hard to see her as being something beyond the title of Lady Shiva, the deadliest woman alive.

Where is she?" Tatsu asked. Glancing around the room as if expecting Shiva or _Sandra_  to enter the room.

"I don't know. She left some time last night and has been gone since. She told me that she would be back later tonight", Laurel explained as she crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. Tatsu's intense gaze fell on Laurel as she studied her silently. Laurel shifted slightly under her scrutiny. She got up from her position of leaning on the wall.

"I'm curious, how did you get her to take you under her tutelage? Shiva is exceptionally picky", Tatsu asked with a slight tilt to her head. Laurel sighed softly before explaining.

"She was in the city one night while I was doing what Ollie does. What Sara, my sister did. Helping people outside of the law", Laurel paused and swallowed thickly before continuing "I was getting absolutely destroyed and she swooped in and dismantled all of those guys with such ease" Laurel said. Her voice was soft and her eyes had a faraway look to them while she was lost in the memory. "I was laying on the ground when she walked over to me, and looked down at me with those cold eyes. She told me that she watched me try to fight all of those guys. There were about six of them. She thought someone with my low leveled skills trying to fight all of them at once was foolish. But she liked how I kept getting up. Whenever I got knocked down I got up like a warrior should were her words basically", Laurel finished with a slight smile gracing her face.

"I see. What made you decide to go with her? You didn't even know her. Do you know the things that she has done? There's oceans of blood on her hands. From what I've heard about you, she isn't the type of person for you to be running around with", Tatsu inquired. From what Oliver Queen had told her about Laurel Lance, she was a stickler for justice and didn't seem to be one to learn under a world class assassin.

"I know what she's done and who she is. Lady Shiva is one of the greatest assassins in the world. There is blood on her hands but I look at her as I look at my sister. A soul that's just been darkened. If I look at her any differently then I will have to look at my sister differently as well. Im here because I want to honor my sister and I want to bring justice to this world in a different way outside of a courtroom. She can give me the tools to do that. She's phenomenal warrior and exceptional teacher" Laurel explained her voice soft as a feather. With that being said, Laurel let Tatsu mulled over her words. A few moments later, both women heard the front door open signaling the arrival of the woman under discussion.

"Little Bird, did you complete your tr-", Lady Shiva stopped dead on her tracks and in the middle of her sentence as she walked into the living room and took in the scene before her. A look of surprise decorated her face at seeing Tatsu sitting there. "What are you doing here?" she asked coldly. Her gaze became intense as she starred Tatsu down. Tatsu stood and met her gaze.

"Good to see you, Sandra", Tatsu teased in a smooth voice, a smirk gracing her face. Shiva's jaw clenched at the use of her name.

"Do not call me that", Shiva said coldly but she did not raise it. The two women continued to stare each other down as Laurel eyes darted back and forth between them. Shiva turned her cold and hard gaze to Laurel. "Leave us, Little Bird", she ordered. Laurel hesitated for a moment before complying and making her way to her room. She walked briskly towards her destination not wanting to impeach on the privacy that Shiva wanted. Once she was in her room, she went to the drawers and pulled out some clothes for a shower. At the same brisk pace, she went to the bathroom and closed and locked the door behind her.

After hearing Laurel turn the shower on, Tatsu began to speak. "She really respects you". She noted in a quiet voice.

"As she should", Shiva replied evenly. Tatsu smiled slightly at Shiva's arrogance. "Why are you here, Katana?" Shiva questioned again, purposely using Tatsu's code name.

"I need your help", Tatsu admitted.

"What makes you think I would give it to you?'

"We have a common enemy, just as your "Little Bird" does. The League of Assassins, Shiva. Help me take them down. I know that they have been on your ass since you left and if I was able to find this place then so will they. The moment they figure out who she is", Tatsu stated referring to Laurel while pointing down the hallway "they will kill her", she continued. "She has ties to Oliver Queen, a man who should have died in a duel with Ra's Al Ghul, she has ties to his sister who killed a member, and now she has ties to you, a traitor. They will kill her to get to the three of you. I know that Queen is now working and training to take Ra's Al Ghul on and if we all team up together, we can succeed",

"There is no need for that. They will have to get through me to get to her" Shiva's voice was filled with warranted confidence. "They won't get through me",

"Are you certain about that? There are countless of them, Shiva. All it takes is one second and they will kill her" Tatsu argued. Shiva mulled over her words for a moment. Though she didn't want to admit it, she was right. If they were ambushed, all it would take was a second for them to kill Laurel. Shiva sighed slightly in defeat. She shouldn't have brought Laurel here. This only put her even more on the map of the League. Both women heard the shower turn off and a few moments later a wet haired laurel stood just outside the living room in the hallway. She looked at Shiva with a question in her eyes to which Shiva nodded, signaling that it was okay for her to enter the room. Laurel entered apprehensively her gaze shifting back and forth between the other women.

"Is everything okay?' she asked.

"No, Little Bird. We need to go back to Starling City to work with your friends to stop Ra's", her teacher replied calmly.

"I don't think I can be around them right now-"

"Get over it" Shiva's voice was strong and left no room for argument as she cut Laurel off, "Merlyn can help us take Ra's on. We will be practically going up against an army. You are on their list of people to kill because you are acquainted with too many enemies of theirs. It should be your first priority to take them down. Push your emotions aside and focus" Shiva's voice resonated in Laurel. Laurel swallowed her protests and nodded. Focus was something that Shiva was constantly hammering into Laurel. Always focus on the mission at hand. Right now, she needed to focus on the bigger picture.

"So," Tatsu interjected, "We're all in agreement?"


	3. Chapter 3

Lady Shiva turned her head to her left reacting to the squeezing of her hand that was placed on the hand rest. Her student was perhaps the worse flier that she had ever met. Lady Shiva looked at her student for a moment, taking in her current panicked state. Laurel was sitting up straight and as stiff as a rod. Her face was as pale as a sheet and she was perspiring on her brow slightly. She also her had face fixed in a mask of terror. At least Little Bird hadn't vomited like last time. "Breathe. Breathe and relax your body", Shiva told her quietly. Laurel closed her eyes and tried to do as Shiva instructed.

Lady Shiva, Tatsu, and Laurel were currently sitting on a flight to Starling City and unfortunately for Laurel, they were only 30 minutes into the 12 hour flight. "Let go of my hand, Little Bird", Shiva ordered. Laurel (always being the obedient Little Bird) let go of her mentor's hand and put her own into her lap and balled it into a fist, digging her nails into her palm. Laurel turned to give Shiva an apology when she saw the damaged she did to Shiva's hand. It was drained of all color except of the hand print left on it by Laurel's iron grip.

"Sorry", Laurel said softly. Shiva ignored the apology and gave attention to her injured hand. She stretched and flexed it, Shiva also wiggled her fingers a bit to get the feeling back into them and to get the blood flowing again. Tatsu, sitting on the right side of Shiva and near the window (they made sure to give Laurel an aisle seat just in case), turned her attention to the Lawyer and studied her curiously.

"It's funny. You fear flying but yet you're ready to take on the League of Assassins. You have a better chance of getting into a car accident than a plane crashing", she stated casually. Laurel turned to Tatsu and looked at her with wide fear-filled eyes.

"One, that doesn't make me feel any better and secondly those are two completely different things. Fighting the League does not involve falling thousands of feet out of the sky into a flaming death", Laurel replied through clenched teeth. "I need to get off this damn plane", Laurel turned away from Tatsu and towards the seat in front of her. She closed her eyes and let her mind wonder in hopes of calming down. She focused her mind on the things that Shiva had taught her over the months that she'd been her teacher.

Lady Shiva had world class experience from her work as a mercenary and assassin. In that time she had picked up and practiced many skills and obtained much knowledge. She was teaching these things to Laurel. One of things that were being taught to Laurel was stealth. She was learning to navigate without making a sound nor being detected. That included using her surroundings such as the shadows to keep herself concealed. They practiced this by having Laurel try to take Shiva by surprise and she failed every single time. Laurel thought on a lesser person, much lesser person she'd have success.

Lady Shiva had also taught her medical tactics so to be able to patch herself up. That included stitches, putting dislocations back in place, how to take out bullets and arrows, and how to close wounds. They had even begun delving into hunting this week. Shiva had taken Laurel out to these woods along the lines of her land and taught her a little about how to hunt with a gun (Laurel was adamant about not wanting to use a bow).

Getting lost in her thoughts had indeed worked. Laurel had calmed down considerable as far as Shiva could tell. Shiva could see that she was no longer tense or squeezing the armrest. Her face had also gained back some of its color. Her breathing had also seemed to be under control. "Sandra", Shiva's body stiffened as she heard the use of her first name. She slowly turned her attention away from Laurel and to the other woman.

"Do not call me that", she stated coldly, her eyes sharp. Tatsu rolled her eyes at Shiva's reaction before replying.

"She" Tatsu began gesturing towards Laurel "nor her friends are ready for the challenge of Ra's Al Ghul. She at least has the advantage of you teaching her. I think it would be best for you to teach them as well", Shiva frowned slightly at Tatsu's words. She did not like the idea of teaching more than one student at once. Especially in this particular case. There was still so much for Laurel to learn and their time training would be cut significantly short due to Laurel going back to work. However, that would give Shiva more time to train for herself. Perhaps she and Katana could pick up a sparring session from time to time. She could teach her a lesson about calling her Sandra.

"I won't train the others. They have Malcolm Merlyn to train them and Laurel needs all of my attention to be on her. Our time now will be cut significantly short with her being back home", Shiva replied after thinking it over. Tatsu nodded her head in understanding, she then looked past Shiva to Laurel who seemed to have calmed down. At that moment, Laurel's tranquil state was disrupted as the plane hit turbulence. The plane shook, jerked and tilted causing Laurel to snap her eyes wide open. They were filled with fear as her body tensed all over.

"Oh God" she said panicky. Her breathing had become labored and she began to squeeze the hand rest and Shiva's hand again. Her state became worse as the nausea hit. Laurel cramped a hand over her mouth and rushed to the restroom. Lady Shiva watched her as she went with a shake of her head. At least she lasted longer than last time.

* * *

Hours later, the three women were piling into Laurel's apartment with their luggage. After placing her bags in her room, Laurel sat down on her couch and sighed in relief. That flight had been awful and it felt good to be home. Laurel felt sleepy but she needed to stay awake to fight the jet lag. While it was afternoon in Starling City, her body was still set to China's time where it was night. Laurel put a hand over her mouth and yawned. She was exhausted but she needed to get many things done before the day ended. One of the many things she needed to do was get her job back at the D.A. office. When Laurel left five months ago, she had to let her job go due to not knowing when she was coming back. She let it go with confidence because based on her conviction rate, they would take her back easily. Laurel also had to go grocery shopping to restock empty fridge pantry. Knowing that she was going to be gone for a long time, Laurel had emptied the fridge and pantry out completely. There was also the job of having the lights, water, phone, internet, etc. Laurel had thought it was best to have those things turned off and to leave only the rent to pay for with her savings.

Shiva came into the living room and sat down next to Laurel, "You only have two rooms" she stated simply.

"I figured that you could get my room, Tatsu can take the guestroom,"Laurel turned and looked down the hallway,"which she already has, and I will take the couch", Laurel then stood up and stretched. " I have some things that need to be done. The lights and such are off and I'll get everything on today. Then we could go grocery shopping? You and Tats can tag along so that you guys can get what you want", Shiva nodded at that and made her way to Laurel's room taking her luggage with her. After entering the room she closed the door behind her. A moment passed before the room door opened again and she placed Laurel's luggage outside the bedroom door before quietly closing the door again. Laurel, watching this, felt agitation run through her but she did not protest. Lady Shiva had taken her under her wing and given her so much knowledge of the arts and such for free. Shiva having Laurel's room completely to herself was a small price. Laurel stood and stretched before heading out to finish her errands.

* * *

Some hours later, Laurel returned to the apartment after finishing her errands to see Lady Shiva sitting on the couch in the living room watching t.v. This caught Laurel by surprise. She didn't think Lady Shiva to be one to watch television. Or have any kind of fun. Laurel walked further into the apartment and went into the living room and stood by the couch that Shiva was sitting on. From here, she could see what she was watching. To her amusement, Lady Shiva was watching Kill Bill. Laurel turned her attention away from the television to Shiva to see a peculiar look on her face. Laurel could not tell if she was entertained or disgusted by the movie. However, Shiva looked rather intrigued. Laurel sat down on the couch next to Shiva, causing her to glance at her for a brief moment before turning her attention back to the movie. "Are you enjoying the movie?" Laurel asked with a smile. Shiva frowned for a moment as if lost in thought.

"I find it to be rather strange and very unbelievable. I have cut and stabbed many people in my life, including you, and blood never sprays out as it happens here. There is also no way that the  _Black Mamba_ could have survived the attack on her by her colleagues. There was also this one part where her mentor jumped and stood on the end of her sword. That's entirely impossible and there are many other things in this movie that fit that description", Laurel was taken aback by Shiva's long answer. That was perhaps the most she had ever heard Shiva speak. Laurel also found Shiva's answer to be a bit funny and chuckled at it.

"Well, it's not supposed to be believable. None of Tarantino movies are",

"Despite it's absurdness of the movie I do like the code of these warriors. I find myself being able to"Shiva paused for a moment to find the right words "relate to them", she finished thoughtfully. Laurel laughed lightly at her answer but it went unnoticed by Shiva who was now adsorbed by the movie. Laurel got up and went to the guest bedroom where Tatsu was. When she reached the door she knocked softly. After a minute or so, Tatsu emerged from the bedroom in a tank top and baggy pants with her body glistening in sweat. She must have been doing some sort of exercises in the room.

"What is it?' she asked curiously.

"We need to go to the grocery store and I figure the two of you could tag along to get what you want", Tatsu nodded and told her she would shower before they left. with that, Laurel went back to the living room where Shiva was. Laurel sat beside her again and watched the movie with her. "We're going to be leaving for the store when Tatsu gets out of the shower", Laurel told her mentor who only nodded without taking her eyes off the television. Minutes later, Tatsu emerged from the bathroom ready to head to the store. Laurel stood and made her way to the front door with Tatsu following suit. When they reached the door they turned to see that Lady Shiva wasn't behind them. Tatsu called to her.

"Sandra, we're leaving now", the use of her first name caused Shiva to glare at Tatsu when she met them at the doorway. With that, they left for the store.

* * *

Laurel sighed in aggravation as she pushed the cart down the aisle way in the grocery store. She thought that this trip would be smooth sailing, however, Shiva was being incredibly picky about what she wanted. In fact, she was being picky about what Laurel could get herself. She wanted Laurel to continue the diet that had been set back in China. However, Laurel wanted to enjoy the things that she hadn't eaten in all those months. When Shiva spoke up about it, Laurel had actually protested which took Shiva by surprise. That was the first time that Laurel had ever disagreed with her on anything. They ended up coming to a compromise where Laurel's diet would be dominated by the choices of Shiva and laurel would have little wiggle room. They came to that decision due to Shiva being impressed with Laurel actually telling her "no" on something and Laurel's strong urge to do whatever Shiva told her to do.

Laurel watched as she passed all the things that she wanted to buy such as chocolate. She really missed chocolate. Just then Tatsu dropped a bag of Hershey Kisses into the cart. "I'll sneak you some", Tatsu whispered to her and Laurel gave her a smile in thanks. "I know how Shiva can be a stickler for discipline. She even tries this on those she's working alongside with," Laurel laughed slightly at that. A moment later Shiva came and dropped tea into the cart. Laurel felt her stomach grumble and she realized it had been hours since she last ate. The cart was full and she decided it would be best if they went out to eat.

"We have enough food to last us for a while and I'm starving now. How about we grab a bite to eat at a restaurant?"She asked while continuing to push the cart. Tatsu nodded her head in agreement while Shiva frowned in hesitance.

"What kind of restaurant?' She asked.

"I will be honest with you. The place that I want to go to is not exactly your forte but the food is delicious. This would also be a way for me to take charge over what little say I have on my diet. The food is delicious and I bet that you will like it once you try it.

* * *

Lady Shiva looked down at her Philly cheese steak in disgust. This was something that she would never, ever order for herself. However, being unfamiliar with the menu she simply ordered what Little Bird did. "Try it, Sandra. You will love it", Tatsu stated in-between bites of hers. Shiva sent a glare Tatsu's way.

"The next time you call me that I will punch you", she said darkly. Being here in this diner with this disgusting food sitting in front of her had Shiva in a sour mood. She turned her glare to her student who had not met her eye since the food arrived. She knew that Shiva would be unhappy but Laurel  _really_ missed eating like this. Gathering her courage, she met Shiva's glare.

"Try it, Shiva. I promise you that you will like it", she encouraged with a nod of her head. Shiva sighed and looked down at the food again. She heaved another sigh and picked up the sandwich. She looked at it tentatively at eye level. She then took a small bite of it. She let it roam around her mouth for a moment and found the taste to be satisfactory. In fact, it was very delicious. She swallowed what was in her mouth before taking a bigger bite. Laurel smiled at the sight of Lady Shiva enjoying a Philly cheese steak. "See? I told you that you would like it", Laurel said brightly. Shiva opted not to respond and continued to eat her sandwich silently. The three women continued to eat while Tatsu and Laurel chatted quietly. Lady Shiva not being a big talker did not chime in at all.

In the midst of a sentence, Laurel felt a presence behind her and heard a very familiar voice. "Laurel, _Tatsu?'_ both women turned at the sound of their names to see Team Arrow standing behind them.


	4. Chapter 4

Laurel looked at the team (that being Roy, Diggle, Felicity and Oliver) in surprise before giving them a smile. Tatsu looked at the group curiously while Lady Shiva took them in with cold eyes. Oliver examined the women curiously. He couldn't wrap his head around the situation before him. He had so many questions running through his mind that he didn't know where to begin. They had fallen into a silence as everyone stared at each other awkwardly excluding Shiva who took in the situation with a blank stare. Finding the silence to be insufferable, Laurel decided to break it. "We obviously have a lot to catch up on, why don't you join us?"

* * *

An hour later, everyone was sitting at two tables that had been pushed together to make room for everyone. During that hour, everything concerning why Laurel had returned to the city had been discussed. They knew of Laurel's training, Shiva's affiliation with the League, and the three women wanting to assist in taking Ra's down. The team had also explained to Laurel what had occurred during the months that she was gone. They told her the training Malcolm had Roy, Thea, and Oliver go through to prepare for Ra's. It had been hard, grueling, and even cruel. He kept them at it for hours on end and had them do incredibly dangerous things. Such as sticking them on Lian Yu with a freed Deathstroke.

Tatsu also explained how she wanted to break Maseo out of the League. That was her reason for wanting to go up against them. He told her that he wanted out and there was no way that Ra's was going to pardon him. The things they wanted him to do were unthinkable (AN: if you know how Ra's is then you know what I'm referring to).

They also told her about her father's hunt for the Arrow for Sara's death. When she left, Quinten had been so consumed with grief and rage that he didn't know what to do with it. He put the blame of Sara's murder on the Arrow. Hearing this filled Laurel with shame and guilt. The situation was her entire fault. If she had told her father about Sara as soon as it had happened, it would've have screwed him up as much. Withholding the information had only made it worse. On top of that, she left when he pushed her away, leaving others to pick her father up. He could've started drinking again for all she knew. She should've been there for him like a daughter should be. She was an awful daughter.

Laurel sat with her head bowed as she thought about the damage she had done to her father and her relationship with him. From withholding the secret from him to disappearing when she did, he was never going to forgive her. She sighed sadly to herself at that thought. "From what you've told me, you and your father are a lot alike", Shiva told her quietly.

Laurel at her mentor in surprise. This was first time that she had spoken sense the others had arrived. Her expression melted from one of surprise to a sad smile, "Yeah, we are alike in so many ways. Good and bad,"

"What do you mean by bad?" Shiva asked.

Laurel stilled at the question. She had not told Shiva about her addiction problems and really didn't have any plans to tell her ever. "Uh, well, I can be stubborn and arrogant and hold grudges. I get that from my dad", she answered half truthfully.

Shiva stared at her for a long minute as if trying to decide if what she was saying was true. As always, her hard gaze made Laurel uncomfortable and she tried not to fidget. She did her best to control her demeanor but Shiva picked up on it. She could read Laurel like a book due to the countless hours spent together over the pasts five months and the fact that Laurel was a horrible liar. Shiva decided to let it go. For now.

She turned her attention away from Laurel to across the table to see the one called Oliver staring at her intently. She met his stare with cold eyes that were close to forming a glare. She didn't like being stared at. Seconds past before he finally spoke to her. "So, Shiva", he said as if mocking the name. Her eyes sharpened at that, "are you still an assassin? You've built up some reputation outside of the League", he then turned his attention to Laurel, "do you know who you've associated yourself with, Laurel?' he asked. He couldn't believe that Laurel had brought this  _mercenary_ to help them least of all receive training from her. Lady Shiva stood for everything that Laurel was against.

The atmosphere around the group of people suddenly became very tense and Laurel glared at Oliver. "Yes, I do", she answered tensely. She should've expected this from him. He had been the same way with Ted and he never approved of her becoming a vigilante. That was one of the reasons she had went with Shiva. Oliver flat out refused to train her.

"I have withheld no information from Little Bird about who I am and what I've done", Shiva told Oliver coolly.

"Little Bird?' the blonde woman questioned.

"For Canary", Shiva replied smoothly, not taking her eyes off Oliver. "It's a badge of honor since she wants to honor her fallen sister",

"That's sweet", Felicity said with a smile which Laurel returned. Oliver's jaw clenched at that. It wasn't sweet, it was stupid and reckless. Laurel's actions weren't about honoring Sara but about coping over her death. She was using this as replacement for drugs and alcohol.

"You're going to get yourself killed", Oliver told her and the tension returned to the tables. Laurel and Felicity looked at him in agitation while Diggle shook his head at Oliver's stupidity. Roy and Tatsu sat back and watched the spectacle quietly.

While Shiva on the other hand, took offense to his comment. "She is being trained by me, boy. She will be prepared for anything when I'm done with her", she said confidently. Laurel turned to her with a smile while Shiva continued to stare Oliver down. She was beginning to really not like him.

Oliver scoffed at her and asked or rather demanded to see Laurel outside. She reluctantly followed him outside the restaurant. Once they were out of earshot, Tatsu looked to Shiva with a smirk on her face. "Still as arrogant as ever, Sandra" as soon as the name left her lips, Shiva socked her in the face with a right hook, earning the shocked faces of the others and the people sitting around them. After the punch, Shiva sat calmly back in her seat as Tatsu held her chin and glared at the other woman. She was going to get her back for that.

* * *

Outside, Laurel and Oliver were in a heated discussion. "Laurel, that woman is a murderer. There is oceans of blood on her hands. There is not telling how many people that she has killed", Oliver stated angrily, earning an eye roll from Laurel.

She couldn't believe his hypocrisy. "You are working with Malcolm Merlyn, Ollie. The man that killed Tommy, Sara, and 503 other people. Don't you dare judge me", she said coldly. "And don't judge Lady Shiva either. From what I remember you went around killing not too long ago"

Oliver couldn't help but wince at her words and hesitated before retorting. "Those things are different and this isn't about me, it's about you being foolish over your grief. You're coping with it in a dangerous way, just as-'

"If you're saying what I think you're saying" Laurel said, cutting him off.

"Just as with your addiction", Oliver finished smoothly. Laurel looked at him in shock. There was no shame on his face as if he felt justified in his words. A wave of shame also ran through her at the mention of her problem. It was something that would always haunt her.

Along with the shame came anger, which clouded her answer. "Ollie, you can kiss my ass. Don't you ever,  _ever_ bring that topic up again, understand? You don't get to do that and you don't get to have a say in what I do" as soon as she finished this sentence, Shiva and Tatsu came out of the restaurant both wearing bruise on their cheeks. Laurel turned around and looked at them in confusion.

"We were thrown out", Shiva said evenly. Laurel looked at them in disbelief.

"You two started a fight?' she asked incredulously. She had been expecting them to come to blows with their constant bickering. She just didn't expect it to be in public. Both women avoided her eye at the question and neither answered. Oliver looked between the three women weirdly. His gaze settled on Tatsu who wouldn't meet his eye.

Seeing the situation at hand, Oliver went back into the restaurant and left Laurel to deal with the problem. Laurel sighed in aggravation and decided that it was best that they headed home.

* * *

The drive back to Laurel's apartment was insufferably quiet and uncomfortable. Shiva sat in the passenger seat staring out of the window with her arms crossed and her face set in a scowl. Tatsu sat in the back glaring at Shiva. Laurel drove silently not knowing what to say. She just hoped that they could handle their problems before a full blown fight broke out between them or one tried to kill the other in their sleep.

Laurel felt on edge and couldn't wait till they reached her home. The tension in the car was so thick that it could be cut with a knife. She wanted out of the car so badly that the thought of handing them the keys and walking home had crossed her mind.

"You are such an asshole, Shiva", Tatsu said angrily, suddenly breaking the suffocating silence. "You're so hell bent of burying the memory of your past and you dead sister that you get so pissy at the mention of your birth name. It's not my fault that you haven't dealt with Carolyn's death after all these years", Laurel's eyes widened at that. She hadn't known anything about Shiva's prior to her becoming the woman she was today. She also knew that this was going to lead to a huge fight.

"Do you have a death wish, Tatsu? Are you that eager to join your dead son?" Shiva asked as she turned to Tatsu with a sneer. Tatsu was silent for a moment.

"Stop the car, Laurel", she said in a quiet voice. Laurel met her eye in the rear-view mirror to see an expression of absolute rage on her face. Laurel shifted uncomfortably and brought her eyes back to the road. They were nearly home.

"We're almost there, Tatsu. You two just reel in your emotions and calm down. Don't do anything that you'll regret", Laurel said nervously. She really hoped they wouldn't start fighting right in the car.

Shiva turned her hard glare to Laurel. "Stop the car, Little Bird", she ordered. Laurel swallowed nervously as she turned into her apartment complex.

"Just let me get there and park", Laurel said in a shaky voice. She hoped that Shiva wouldn't hit her. Fortunately, both women were patient enough for her to park. Though, as soon as the car came to a stop, both women exited the car so fast that Laurel could barely react. Tatsu had grabbed Shiva by the throat and held her against the car as she threw a punch. Laurel jumped out of her car to pull the women apart. By the time Laurel had reached them, Shiva had turned the tables. She threw a punch at Tatsu's face which Laurel caught before it arrived. Shiva looked at her in surprise as she put herself between the two rivals.

Seeing the expression on her mentor's face, Laurel held her hands up in a sign of peace. "Get out of the way, Laurel", Tatsu growled from behind. When she didn't move, Shiva pushed her out of the way and went after the other woman. Laurel fell to the ground and looked at the two fighting women. Shiva was winning but Tatsu was getting some good licks in. Laurel got up from the ground and made a move to separate them again.

"Guys, stop it! Someone is going to call the cops!' She ordered as she forced them apart again. This time they took heed to Laurel's warning. They didn't engage again and glared at each other over her shoulder. "Let's just calm down and head inside separately? You first", she stated handing the keys to Tatsu. Tatsu took them without taking her glare off Shiva before slowly turning around and heading inside. Shiva glared harshly at Laurel who met her with a stern stare.

"You had no right to interfere", she growled, causing Laurel to look at her with wide eyes.

"No right? You two would've brought the cops down here and who the hell knows what that would've led to. I betting dead cops", she retorted.

"Tomorrow morning, you and I spar", Shiva stated before marching into the apartment building. Laurel was hit with a dread at that. She knew that Shiva was pissed at Tatsu and her. She was going to use Laurel as a punching bag to take out her frustrations on. It was going to be a very painful morning for Laurel. With that thought, Laurel headed inside with heavy feet, fearing the coming of morning.


	5. Chapter 5

* * *

Shiva hooked Laurel by the arm and tripped her. Laurel hit the ground with a thud, the air being knocked out of her. Slightly disoriented, she looked up at her mentor who stood above her, looking down at her with cold, brown eyes, her jet black, short hair fanning her face. After glaring down at her pupil for a long minute, Shiva slowly turned and walked away from her. "Back on your feet", she ordered in a cold voice with her back still to Laurel.

Laurel slowly got to her feet and took a fighting stance. She was showing the battle wounds of their morning sparring session that was occurring on the roof of Laurel's apartment building. It was more of a bag session and Laurel was the punching bag. Shiva was obviously still upset about last night and was taking her frustrations out on Laurel.

She waited until Shiva had turned around before rushing at her. Shiva caught Laurel's punch and turned it into a flying arm bar. Laurel ended up being flipped and put on her back with her right arm in the grasp of Shiva. She grunted in pain as Shiva put pressure on her arm with her hips. It took her a moment, but Laurel able to roll and loosen Shiva's grip. She did so enough that she could connect her hands and get to a crouching position, stacking Shiva up, and taking pressure off her arm. Shiva reacted by switching her submission into a triangle choke. Shiva went full force on the choke, not relenting in the least.

Try as she might, Laurel couldn't get out of it. She had to resort to a last ditch effort in picking Shiva up in an attempt to slam her. It did not work (AN: do not try to slam you way out of a triangle choke. Good chance you will only make it worse) and she only ended up making the choke deeper. As she was beginning to lose consciousness, Shiva let the choke go and kicked Laurel away. Due to the kick, Laurel rolled away from Shiva backwards and landed on her back. She was still reeling from the choke, her mind still muddled and fuzzy from nearly losing conscious. She forced herself through the cobwebs and got back to her feet. Unlike Shiva who was still on the ground, sitting with her legs cross.

She sat with her back completely straight, her body language oozing confidence and a cocky smirk on her face. She was enjoying this little game. Laurel stood before her with her arms hanging lowly by her side and her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath. Her face was bruised and bloodied but still recognizable. She looked as though she was ready to collapse but Shiva couldn't find it in herself to care.

Seeing her cocky demeanor agitated Laurel to no end. This training session was not about her learning but about Shiva blowing off some steam, which she found to be unfair. It was not her fault that Tatsu hit a nerve last night. That stubbornness and sass she was known for fueled her as she stood to her full height despite the pain she was feeling and glared down at Shiva in defiance. Her hands balled into tight fists as she held Shiva's eye. Sandra looked up at her with a slight tilt of her head in reaction to her change in demeanor. Her smirk expanded into a full, evil smile. She rather liked Laurel's feistiness and attitude. "Your move, girl", she said in a demeaning tone, which hit a nerve.

Being called girl ticked Laurel off even more and coupled with everything else, Laurel felt hot anger run down her spine. Her face turned into a slight sneer as she ran and threw a kick at the still sitting Shiva who caught the attack. Laurel was expecting this and reacted by pulling her leg away and throwing a spinning heel hook with it but Shiva was fast. In a split second, Shiva ducked it, got to a standing position to counter with a straight left. It landed square in Laurel's face, pushing her back. To finish off the combination, Shiva threw a spinning back kick of her own which landed right on the side of Laurel's head. Laurel's body hit the ground with a loud thud as everything faded into black for her. She was out like a light. Shiva righted he body and stood above her pupil, glaring down at her form. She sighed as she stared down at Laurel, her eyes softening. Though she felt better, it was perhaps wrong to take her frustrations out on her student. She reached down, picked Laurel up then slung her over her shoulder and then carried her back to her apartment.

* * *

Laurel's eyes flickered open slowly. As her eye sight gained more focus, she saw Tatsu sitting by her bedside in her bedroom. She groaned in pain as she gained consciousness. Everything hurt and she couldn't remember why. All she remembered was being really pissed at Shiva while sparring. After that, it was blank. She slowly sat up and sat on the edge of the bed.

"She really did a number on you", Tatsu said with a chuckle.

"What happened?" Laurel asked grimacing in pain.

"You sparred with a pissed off Shiva. You probably would have been better off letting me and her have it out last night", Tatsu explained.

Laurel shook her head at Tatsu's words, "Someone would have called the cops and she probably would've killed them with her bare hands", Laurel stated, causing Tatsu to laugh softly, "What are you doing here anyway, Tatsu?" Laurel asked curiously. After the huge fight the previous night, Tatsu felt it was best if there was some space between her and Shiva. She decided to call up Oliver for a place to stay. She ended up being placed with Felicity. With her gone, Lady Shiva took the guest bedroom and Laurel got her master bedroom back.

"I figured that you would be in bad shape and boy was I right. You've been out for hours", at that, Laurel looked around the room to realize that it was sometime in the late afternoon. They had been training in the morning. Laurel sat up straighter slightly in surprise, causing her to aggravate her injuries. She grimaced in pain. "You're pretty banged up but nothing is broken. You'll heal up in the next few days", Tatsu said as she noticed Laurel's discomfort.

"I'm guessing that Shiva isn't here and how did you get in?" Laurel asked. If she was then she and Tatsu would have probably been in a huge fight, drawing the attention of law enforcement.

"I broke in. Your apartment is very easy to get into. Also, A\a lot has happened while you were…sleeping. The League is in the city and she's meeting with a member", Tatsu explained.

"Who?" Laurel asked, confusion clouding her features.

Tatsu shifted at her question, "I believe that's her business to tell you",

Laurel raised an eyebrow at Tatsu's answer and behavior. Whoever it was, it had to be rather interesting, "is it someone she trusts?"

Tatsu nodded, "she does trust him",

Laurel became thoughtful at that. She didn't know many League members and had no clue who it could be. She shrugged it off and figured she would ask Shiva about it later. Laurel felt her stomach grumble, she hadn't had anything to eat all day and was now starving. Tatsu gave her a look at her rumbling stomach, "hungry?" she questioned.

* * *

Minutes later, they sat at the dining table eating a dinner made by Tatsu. Laurel had first attempted to cook but that went downhill immediately. At the moment, Tatsu was still laughing at the disaster that had occurred in the kitchen, "it's not that funny", Laurel said as she rolled her eyes at her laughter.

"You nearly burned down your kitchen making mac and cheese from the blue box", Tatsu said as her laughter died down. Laurel sighed at her words. That was the last time she was going to cook for someone.

"Well, there have been worse occasions, which, I will never tell you about", Laurel said, causing Tatsu to chuckle. They continued to chat for half an hour, getting to know each other a little better. Tatsu would have stayed longer but decided to leave before Shiva returned from her meeting. She bid Laurel a goodnight and made her departure. After she left, Laurel cleaned up the dishes they had used and the mess in the kitchen. Once she was done, she went her bedroom, once there, she looked under her bed and pulled out a black case. She sat with her back against the bed and placed the case on her crossed legs. She opened it to see her outfit that she hadn't worn for months. She slowly ran her fingers across the leather, familiarizing herself with it again. She had missed it dearly. She was going to take for a spin tonight, but first, there was an important matter to handle.

* * *

Laurel sat outside of her father's apartment in her car, trying to gather the courage to go inside. She gripped the steering wheel tightly in an attempt to calm her raging nerves. She closed her eyes for a moment, centering herself. She opened them again and got out of the car, closing the door behind her. She took a deep breath and went inside of the building. As she walked up to his apartment, her heart raced in her chest and her palms became clammy. Her feet felt heavy and she felt as though she was going to faint.

Once she made it to his door, the thought of running came to mind but she pushed the thought away. Fear had gotten her into this mess in the first place. Heaving a sigh, she lifted her hand and knocked on the door. It seemed to be an eternity as she waited for him to answer the door. When she heard the door beginning to unlock, she begun to nervously wring her hands. Her father opened the door at first looking at her in surprise then in concern. "What happened to you?" he asked softly, referring to her face that was showing the effects of Lady Shiva.

She shook her head with a small smile, feeling a sense of glee at his concern, "It's nothing", she said with a wave of her hand towards her face, "Hi, Dad", the words left her mouth nervously, her eyes soft and shining with hope. Hi eyes hardened at her greeting, as though he remembered her betrayal. His face turned into a scowl as he studied his daughter. Laurel offered him a smile and wrung her hands nervously as she waited for him to respond.

"What are you doing here?" he asked lowly.

Laurel looked down at her feet as she tried to find the right words to answer him. This was hard. She met his eye again, her eyes shining with tears, "I'm trying to fix our relationship. You said that we had something special because we're alike so much. You were and I have missed you terribly. What I did was wrong and awful. You have every right in the world to be upset at me. But please, I'm so, so sorry. We've already lost Sara and I don't think that we should lose each other", she took a shuddering breath as she finished, her hopes high and her heart on her sleeve. She could feel herself shaking slightly as she waited for him to respond. He looked at her with cold eyes for a long moment. He didn't respond verbally, he closed the door slowly without saying a word. Laurel looked in horror as the door slowly closed, "Daddy, please", she cried as the door closed with a click.

Laurel stared at the closed door, her eyes wide and shedding tears. It was over. Her relationship with her father was over. The person that she modeled herself after didn't want anything to do with her. She stood silently crying staring at the door for a long while, her heart breaking over just as the relationship with her father. She then turned around with her head bowed and dried her eyes. She walked down the hall and then made her way down the stairs sniffling softly. Her crying had completely stopped by the time she had reached her car.

She went to the trunk and popped it open. She had placed her suit, wig, and night stick in her truck. She figured that she would take out her frustrations on the criminals tonight.

* * *

An hour later, Laurel sat on a rooftop in the Glades overlooking an alley. She was shadowing a young girl who had made the mistake of walking by herself on the wrong side of town. She knew that there was trouble bound to find this girl. As the girl made it to the end of an alleyway, a group of men came out of the shadows. Admittedly, Laurel felt a rush of excitement and adrenaline at seeing the men. She was anticipating trying out her skills on someone not as skilled as Shiva.

The men hollered and jeered at the girl as they closed in on her, surrounding her like a pack of wolves. Laurel silently made her way down a fire escape and onto a large dumpster, behind the men. She was unnoticed by the men and the girl, hidden in the shadows. Laurel felt herself smile in excitement, this was going to be fun.

In the blink of an eye, Laurel had got off the dumpster and engaged the men. She went up behind one them, taking him out with one swift swing with her nightstick. The other three men looked at her in surprised. One from her right charged her and she threw him to the ground him to the ground, using his own momentum against him. She felt another one come up behind her and reacted by throwing a spinning crescent kick, knocking him unconscious. Another came at her with a punch which she caught, she then hit his arm with her nightstick, breaking it, causing him to yelp in pain. The other still conscious one came up behind her and threw a punch which she dodged, she let the other go and threw a backwards elbow, hitting the man right in the nose. She dropped down and swept the guy off his feet with a kick and punched him in the face, rendering him unconscious. Laurel looked up from her handy work to see the one with the broken arm scampered away holding his broken arm.

Laurel stood and turned her attention to the would-be-victim. She walked over to her and took in her form. She was clutching her pursing and staring at Laurel with wide eyes. "Are you okay?" Laurel asked. The girl nodded her head frantically. "How far from here do you live from here?

"Just on the other end of the alley" she answered nervously, pointing in that direction.

Laurel nodded and touched the girl's shoulder lightly, "Don't do this anymore. Walking by yourself at night, I mean. You should be able to do so but people suck, so be safe, okay?" the girl nodded, Laurel gave her a smile before running off into the night.

* * *

The next morning, Laurel woke to the sound of her alarm blaring. She woke feeling rather regenerated and excited. She had missed her job and the thought of being a prosecutor again was exhilarating. She leaned over to the side of her to hit the alarm clock. She then climbed out of bed and fell into an old routine. Once she was showered and dressed, Laurel exited her bedroom and was going to head to the kitchen until she noticed that the place was quiet. Shiva would've been up by now if she had been home. Laurel made her way to the guest bedroom with a hurried stride. She knocked on the bedroom door and received no answer. "Lady Shiva, are you in there?" still she received no answer. Feeling a sense of panic, laurel rushed to the living room and picked up the phone sitting on the coffee table. She quickly dialed Felicity's number and waited impatiently for an answer. After a few rings, Felicity picked up the phone, "Hello, Felicity? I don't have time to chat, put Tatsu on the line, it's an emergency," Laurel stated as she paced in her living room. She wasn't trying to be rude but she was worried about Shiva's well-being. The person she went to meet could have double-crossed her.

A few seconds later, Laurel heard Tatsu's Japanese accent over the line. As soon as she heard her voice, Laurel began speaking, "Shiva isn't back, yet", her voice was filled with worry and she began to pace faster. "Do you know where she met this person?"

"No, I don't and I wouldn't worry. She can take care of herself. The things this woman has done you wouldn't even believe. There's nothing much that the League can throw at her that she wouldn't be prepared for,"

Laurel ran a hand down her face. That didn't ease her anxiety. "How can you be so sure?" she exhaled. At that moment, Laurel heard a knock on the door. She briskly made her way to the door as Tatsu responded to her question by telling her that Shiva is too smart and too skilled to be taken down so easily. Laurel looked through her peep hole. To her surprise, Lady Shiva was standing on the other side. "I'll call you back, she's right outside the door," Laurel then hung up the phone and put it on the small table near the door. She opened the door and greeted her mentor with a big smile, relieved that she was okay. Shiva looked at her strangely in return.

"Are you going to let me in?" she questioned. Laurel stepped aside to let her inside, still smiling. Shiva threw her a glance as she passed her. Shiva went to the living room and sat on the couch, with Laurel following behind her. When she sat down, Shiva gave Laurel a once over as she stood in front of her, noting how she was dressed. "You're going back to work today", she said simply, which Laurel nodded in confirmation. "Your face hasn't completely healed",

Laurel waved her hand at that, "I'll just blame it on a boxing sparring lesson gotten out of hand. I've used it before",

Shiva shifted in her seat and seemed to be getting ready to say something but seemed to decide against it. Laurel noticed her behavior but didn't say anything about it. Laurel looked down at her watch and saw that she was behind on time and needed to leave now. She bid Shiva goodbye and ran out of the door.

"Her apartment is far too easy to break into", a deep voice said behind her. Shiva's jaw clenched. She slowly turned around to see a white haired man standing behind her. She slowly stood and made her way over to him with calculated strides. She stopped about a foot in front of him, glaring at him.

"I told you not to come here," she said coldly.

"And miss out on getting a glimpse of the sister of Ta-er al-Sahfer? Not a chance, Sandra", he replied casually. Shiva's jaw twitched at the use of her first name but she didn't correct him.

"Why are you here?"

"I think it's high time I met with your little team. There's things brewing within the League and we could help each other. You want to stop Ra's and I want something as well",

"The title of Ra's Al Ghul. All you have ever cared about is power", Shiva responded with a smirk.

He zeroed in on her then, closing the space between them to mere inches. Shiva didn't budge and stood her ground. He reached up with a hand in an attempt to touch her cheek but Shiva caught his hand in a firm grip before it made its destination. He smiled softly at her action, "I think I proved you wrong on that last night", he stated, his voice dropping an octave.

"It meant nothing", Shiva said strongly.

He backed away from her and gave her a smirk. "I look forward to meeting Oliver Queen and his team. But I really look forward to meeting your student. I say tonight? The League is already getting everything going to bring this city to its knees in the name of vengeance. We need to get things rolling",

"Fine", Shiva said simply. With that settled, he gave her a wink and left the apartment.

* * *

Later that day, after getting off from work, Laurel decided to visit Sara. She was currently kneeling before her grave, telling her about the things she did while she was gone. "While I was away, I went under the wing of Lady Shiva. You never met her. She left the League before you got there", she said smiling softly. She sighed softly before continuing, "Dad is still mad at me. But when he saw my face, he seemed worried so I don't think he hates me. I deserve whatever he has to throw at me but I will fix this," she finished with a sad grin. She sat with her sister in silence for a moment until she heard a movement behind. She stood instantly and turned around to see who it was. She came face to face with Nyssa Al Ghul. She stood some feet away from Laurel, in street clothes. Laurel was slightly defensive, regarding her with a wary eye.

"Hello, Laurel", she said in greeting.

"Nyssa", Laurel said with a small bow of her head. They stood silently staring at each for a moment, "How long have you been standing there?" she questioned.

"I just arrived. I wasn't protruding on you", Nyssa answered softly.

Laurel gave her a nod, "I will give you your privacy", she said softly as she began to walk away.

As she walked passed her, Nyssa spoke up, "You heard me",

"What?" Laurel asked in confusion, as she turned around to look at Nyssa again.

Nyssa turned to look at Laurel, "you heard me as I approached," she eyed Laurel with suspicion, "I wasn't necessarily being stealthy but I always walk rather quiet. The average person wouldn't have heard me",

Laurel casually shrugged her shoulders, trying to mask her sense of panic. It would cause trouble if the League discovered her association with Lady Shiva, considering that she was a traitor. "I've been blessed with good ears",

"Who did you get in a fight with?" she questioned with narrowed eyes.

Laurel stiffened at the question, "no one, it was a boxing session gotten out of hand. It happens",

Nyssa eyed her for a second before speaking "You were right. Malcolm Merlyn was responsible for Sara's murder," she said simply, changing the subject.

"I know",

Nyssa blinked in surprise, she figured that Laurel would have attempted to take justice in her sister's name. She also felt a rise of anger that she didn't do anything about it. She took a step towards Laurel, her eyes glaring, "Then why didn't you do anything? You let your sister's killer freely walk the streets?" Nyssa's voice was low and menacing.

Laurel's eyes harden and she squared her shoulders, not backing down from Nyssa, "If it was up to me, he would be dead, but, things were complicated. Then again, I'm not much of a killer", she finished with a small smile.

Nyssa scoffed at that, "That's weakness",

"No, it's being human. Goodnight, Nyssa", with that, Laurel left Nyssa by herself at Sara's grave. As she walked away, Nyssa studied her intently. Because of her years of training, she was a very observant person and could read people like books and she knew that there was something different about Laurel. From her noticing Nyssa approaching to her body language, he wasn't the same person she was months ago. With her curiosity aroused, Nyssa turned around and went to see Sara.

* * *

After leaving the graveyard, Laurel made her way to the Wildcat gym to visit Ted. She stepped into the gym to see Ted moping the ring after a day of training. He looked up at hearing the door open and close. He at first looked at her in surprise and then his face spread into a wide grin which she returned. She walked closer to the ring as he stepped out and walked down the steps towards her. When he reached her, he pulled her into a tight hug which she returned in full. She missed him terribly. After hugging for a moment, he pulled back and stared at her smiling. His smile turned into a look of concern when he noticed her face.

He lightly brushed his fingers against her face, "is this from your new trainer or you being reckless?' before she had left, Laurel had told him about her training with Lady Shiva. He was the only one she explained everything to.

Laurel smiled, feeling her heart accelerate at his touch. She softly grabbed his hand in hers, removing it from her, "it's from her. She's tough on me",

He looked down at her with soft, brown eyes that she could get lost into, "she shouldn't do this to you, Laurel",

"Well, she did knock me out cold, yesterday and I have no clue how it happened. But she's a phenomenal teacher, and her ways toughen me up",

"That's horrible", he said with concern on his face.

Laurel waved her hand at that, "its fine, Ted. I'm fine", she said reassuringly.

He looked as though he was going to object but held his piece. He looked down and noticed that her right hand was bruised. He grabbed it and ran his thumb over her bruised knuckles, he studied her knuckles for a moment, then looked up at her. "I told you that you should wear MMA gloves. But you're as stubborn as ever", he finished with a smile.

"I listen to you more than most people," she said teasingly and then she paused for a moment, looking up at him softly, "It's good seeing you again, Wildcat", she said genuinely.

"It's good seeing you too. I missed you", he said softly, looking at her with a certain gleam in his eyes. "Let me take you out for dinner. I wanna hear about everything you did while you were away," Laurel grinned and accepted his offer.

* * *

There's the fifth chapter. I'm curious if any of you know who Shiva was talking to, please leave a comment guessing who it is. Anyway, in this chapter, Laurel met up with Nyssa and was read like a book by her. When one undergoes that type of intense training then they change and Nyssa picked up on that. Oliver will as well and he's going to be negative about it. I'm also waiting on fixing Laurel's relationship with her father, it's going to take something big for him to see that the grudge isn't worth it. Huntress may come into play in the next chapter and I'm debating of bringing Lady Blackhawk into the story. Please leave a review telling me what you think and what I can do to improve


	6. Chapter 6

Here's the sixth chapter. Hope you all enjoy! :)

* * *

Laurel took a bite of her Korean taco as she sat with Ted in the little Korean restaurant that was a few blocks from the gym. While they ate, she told him about everything she learned and delved more into how hard Shiva was on her. When she told him about it, he seemed rather horrified by the harsh treatment Shiva dished out on her. It was something that she expected from him. While he was supportive of her choices and didn't try to control her, he wanted her to be safe. Having a teacher who was willing to beat the living daylights out of her didn't fall under safe to him.

"I just don't think that she should be knocking your head off like that. You don't even know what happened, Laurel. I get you training but with her?" her questioned with a shake of his head.

Laurel rolled her eyes at his objections. "Ted, the first time I stepped into your gym, you knocked out one of your students. If I were a guy, you would have given me the same treatment",

Ted open his mouth to reply and then stopped to think over her words. He met her smirk with a frown, "perhaps but I would never do that to you regardless", he said pointing to her face.

She wiped her mouth with a napkin and looked at him earnestly, "It's fine. I'm okay, sure I get banged up but it makes me stronger. Tougher. Lady Shiva's ways gets me prepared for anything and I have improved so much with her",

He looked at her with concerned eyes, not content with her words. The whole situation didn't sit well with him at all. He understood going hard on a student to toughen them up but from what Laure told him about the things Lady Shiva did to her were way over the top. But Laurel seemed to be okay with it and he felt like it was her choice. So he was going to leave it alone. He nodded his head and decided to change the subject, "have you seen your father since you've been back?'

Laurel's face fell at the mention of her father and she looked down at the table depressingly, "yes, I did. He still doesn't want anything to do with me",

Ted looked at her sympathetically, trying to find the right words to comfort her. She had told him about how close she was with her father and how they had been all each other had during those five years. Now, that relationship was in shambles and she was wallowing in guilt of being the cause of it. "Laurel", he called, causing her to look up at him, her eyes filled with a deep sadness, "you said that you and your father are one in the same, right?" Laurel nodded in confirmation, "well, there have been times when he has done some really screwed up things to you and you forgave him. This is just going to take time. Lots of time but he will move past it", he told her encouragingly.

Laurel smiled at that and shook her head, "I hope you're right", she said softly.

"You forgave your mother for encouraging Sara to get on that boat. Going on you being just like him, then he will forgive you for this", Laurel looked hopeful at that. Perhaps Ted was right. "Speaking of which, have you spoken with your mother, yet?' Ted asked curiously.

Laurel looked rather guilty at that, "No, I haven't", she admitted sheepishly.

Ted looked at her in exasperation, "Laurel, the woman hasn't spoken to or seen you in months",

"It's not that bad. We went five years without contact and she seemed okay, and it's not like I haven't talked to her on purpose. I've been so busy since I've gotten back," she said in her defense before taking another bite of her taco.

Ted guffawed at her, "Really, Laurel?'

Laurel sighed, "I will talk to her tomorrow and we will have a long conversation", she looked as though she was going to continue but opted not to say anything else. Her demeanor became sad for a second but she recovered quickly. Ted noticed her change in behavior.

He studied her intently, trying to read her. Laurel felt his intense gaze on her and decided to ignore it. He was silent for a long moment as he chewed his food before speaking up, "You never truly fix things between the two of you did you?"

Laurel looked somber at the question, she looked down at her plate and then made eye contact again, "no", she said quietly.

"Are you still mad at her?"

"No", she answered strongly with a shake of her head, "it's just that-"laurel was cut off by her phone ringing. She looked at Ted apologetically as she pulled it out of her purse to answer it. "Hello? Shiva", Ted noticed how she sat up straighter and how she seemed to be on attention. Almost like a soldier reacting to its superior. Her face had a concentrated look on it and whatever Shiva was saying, she only answered with confirmatives. After a minute or so, the call ended.

After finishing the call, Laurel looked at Ted apologetically, "I have to go," she stood and began to gather her things. She pulled out some money from her purse to pay for her meal but Ted waved her off with his hand.

"I've got it covered", he said with a small smile. Laurel gave him a thanks and rushed out of the restaurant.

* * *

Laurel arrived to the Arrow cave to see the team, Thea, Malcolm, Tatsu, Shiva, and a man she didn't know there. They all turned to her when she came down the steps leading to the cave. She looked at them curiously her gaze mainly focusing on the man with white hair who was standing next to Lady Shiva. "What's going on?" she asked curiously, walking towards her mentor.

"We have a lot to discuss", Malcolm answered. Laurel felt the familiar white hot rage roll down her back at the sound of his voice, she chose to ignore him and kept her eyes on Shiva, waiting for her to answer.

Shiva's eyes flickered to Malcolm for a second before focusing on Laurel, "just as he said. There's much to be discussed",

"What exactly?"

"Matters concerning the League of Assassins", the white haired man answered. Laurel turned to him and eyed him curiously and cautiously, "David Cain", he answered her unspoken question.

She gave him a curt nod and a small smile, "Laurel Lance. Speaking of the League, I ran into Nyssa earlier tonight. She knows the truth about Sara's murder and she wants him, and  _only_ him", she stated, pointing to Malcolm.

"Let's hand him over", Thea said, glaring at her father with hatred.

"Thea", he said softly, looking at his daughter with sympathetic eyes.

"No! What you made me do is unforgivable. You re the cause of all this", she said vehemently. Laurel agreed with every word that Thea said. He was the cause of this mess, Sara's blood was on his hands. He deserved everything that the League had to throw at him.

"It would be the logical thing to do", Shiva said, David Cain's looked at her from the corner of his eye strangely. The look only lasted for a second but Laurel caught it.

"She's right. It would be insane to take the League on for him", Diggle stated.

"Then we're going to display some insanity", Oliver declared. Laurel's head whipped towards his direction with incredulity showing on her face.

"What?!" Felicity practically yelled.

"It would darken your souls to just let him die", Oliver said as he met the gaze of Felicity.

Laurel felt the familiar anger that had been eating away at her since Sara's death rising within her at Oliver's words, "I'm willing to take that chance if it means that son of bitch rots in the ground", she said darkly.

"Killing just makes someone darker. Right now you're just angry but you will grow to regret your decision", he tried to explain. Laurel shook her head at him in disbelief, baffled by how far he was willing to go to protect Malcolm.

"You are unbelievable", she said before storming out of the cave. She had to, needed to get away from Oliver and Malcolm. She felt like if she didn't then she was going to do something she would regret. As she made it back to the club, Oliver caught up with her, grabbing her by the arm to get her to look at him. She snatched her arm away while sending him a piercing glare, "let go of me", she said vehemently.

He did what she said and dropped his hands to his sides. He met her fierce glare with soft eyes, "we can't stoop to his level,"

Laurel rolled her eyes, "but it's okay to take the life of Ra's? What's the difference?"

"One is out of necessity and the other is out of vengeance,"

"I think it's a necessity to put down the man who continues to kill, Oliver. He has so much blood on his hands, including that of Sara and Tommy. How many more people will die before you do something?"

Oliver sighed deeply before replying, "Laurel, I will deal with him in time but please, understand that this isn't the way. You are letting vengeance, hurt, and hatred blind you. You believe in justice, and justice doesn't mean that he dies",

Laurel stopped short at his words. He was right, she did believe in justice, and murdering someone in vengeance wasn't justice. But the matter still remained that justice wasn't being served with Malcolm freely roaming around. "So what? He just gets to roam around freely?"

Oliver looked away then, not being able to answer her. Laurel's face clouded with disappointment, "that's not justice, Ollie. That's letting a very dangerous man run around for stupid reasons. Perhaps it is best to hand him over regardless. If he's sticking around them I'm not", with that said, Laurel made her way to the exit and left the club. She walked briskly to her car, trying to put as much space as she could between herself and Malcolm. When she made it to her car, she was stopped from getting in by hearing footsteps behind her. She turned around to see Tatsu approaching her. The woman offered her a smile as she came closer, "there are still things we need to go over in there. I get that you're upset but you need to focus on the task at hand",

Laurel shook her head, "I can't, Tatsu. Just seeing him.." she drifted off at that, her eyes getting a faraway look in them.

Tatsu looked at her in understanding, "I must admit, that if someone wanted me to work with or even save the murderer of my son, I would probably punch that person in the face",

Laurel looked away and chuckled at her words, "believe me, there have been times that I have wanted to just strangle Ollie. I felt close to doing that tonight, which is part of the reason I'm leaving. I don't think I have it in me to sit by the man who killed my sister and the man who continues to protect him. I will have Shiva bring me up to speed when she gets back," Tatsu nodded at her words and bid her farewell. Laurel then got in her car and drove away. Tatsu watched her drive away before heading back inside with the others. When she reached the foundry, she discovered that everyone had resumed discussion amongst themselves. She made her way over to her new roommate, Felicity and made sure to stay clear of Lady Shiva. When she reached the blonde woman, Felicity turned to her, "how is she?"

"About as good can be expected. She just can't stomach to be around Malcolm. Nor Oliver considering his stance on the situation", Tatsu replied softly before turning her attention to the rest of the group. As she listened in, she heard that they were discussing the matter of protecting Malcolm. Her eyes flickered over to David, who she suspected tried to make Oliver's decision more reasonable. As she stared at him, he began to speak.

"Ra's al Ghul needs to be taken down, regardless. He wants to do more than put hits on those who are evil or dangerous. He wants to level this planet's population in ways wouldn't even believe. In the history of the League, they have wiped out civilizations because he didn't deem them worthy of living on", he explained, with his blue, cool eyes sweeping over everyone in the room, studying them intently. Everyone besides the former members of the League reacted with surprise. "If you really want to make a difference Oliver, then you would make one by taking him down for good", he said staring directly at the archer.

Oliver contemplated everything for a moment as he looked around at the others before bringing his eyes back to the white haired man, "how can I know that this is the truth? We barely know you", he said as he watched David with wariness.

"What he is saying is true. Ra's wants to devastate the population to achieve his dream world", Shiva said.

"And how can we trust you?" Diggle questioned. Shiva fixed him with a hard glare.

"I'm not much of a lair and it would be foolish to start a war with Ra's for nothing", she answered coolly.

Oliver thought it over, his brow furrowed in concentration, "is he planning something now?"

David nodded his head in confirmation, "he is. Major cities are his targets, cities such as Starling, Gotham, Central, and Metropolis. Ra's will bring these cities to their knees",

Hearing this, Oliver came to a decision, "then it's settled. We're going to war",

* * *

Across town, Laurel was sitting in her living room with papers from work sitting on the couch next to her and spread about on the coffee table. She decided to get a little work in before heading to bed. She looked over to the clock to see that it was getting late, she stifled a yawn and decided it was time to call it a night. As she was gathering her work to put back into her brief case, there was a soft knock on the door. She stopped what she was doing and made her way to the door and opened it, "we need to get you a key", she said softly, seeing that it was Lady Shiva. Shiva didn't reply as she walked passed Laurel who made room for her to come inside. Shiva went into the living room and Laurel followed her after closing the door.

Shiva looked around for a moment, taking in the scattered papers before turning her attention to Laurel, "all of this is from your first day back?" she asked with an arched eye brow.

Laurel smiled softly, "it is,"

"You must love your job to able to put up with all this", Shiva replied with a sweep of her hand.

Laurel's smiled widened at her words, "I enjoy being a lawyer and I get a sense of out accomplishment from delivering justice," Laurel's smile then melted away into a sullen look, "which is why it eats at me even more that Malcolm is a free man",

To Laurel's surprise, Shiva's face softened just a bit at her words. It was barely noticeable but Laurel saw it, "that is the fact for now. After you left, it came to our attention that we need to bring Ra's down for more than protecting Malcolm. He's planning to attack major cities in the U.S. Cities such as this one, Gotham, Central, and Metropolis. More than likely, these attacks will wipe these cities off the map",

Laurel's eyes widened at the revelation. The death toll would be astronomical. Millions upon millions of lives would be lost and Laurel couldn't fathom why he would do such a thing, "Why would he do this?"

"Ra's has a vision that he wants to achieve and these places are unfit for his perfect world", Shiva answered simply, watching as Laurel shook her in disbelief. It seemed as though her sister didn't tell her about the dirty secrets of the League, "I'm surprised about your reaction, Little Bird. This is classic Ra's. He is responsible for civilizations now being extinct and more recently, villages being gone", she said as she closely examined the other woman.

Laurel looked down and swallowed, "Sara didn't tell me much about the League. It seemed like a touchy subject so I just never asked", she said softly.

Shiva smiled bitterly, "knowing who you are, you wouldn't want to be anywhere near me if you knew the things I did while serving Ra's", she said darkly.

Laurel looked up at that and shook her head, "that's not true, Shiva,"

Shiva scoffed and shook her head, "you sound very delusional, girl. You have no idea what Ra's made us do. What he made your sister do", she said with emphasis, causing a flash in Laurel's eyes.

"Don't go there, Shiva", she said in a low voice. Shiva simply eyed her which Laurel met with a warning glare. That rather surprised her that Laurel wasn't backing down, yet again. Just as she didn't during their sparring session the other day. Which reminded her.

Shiva took a step closer to Laurel and watched as the woman continued to stand her ground. She took another and another towards her pupil but yet, Laurel did not back down, holding Shiva under a hard stare. She stopped about a foot in front of her, a smirk gracing her face. Laurel's hard stare turn into one of curiosity at Shiva's proximity. They stared at each other in a silence that stretched for what seemed like minutes, with Shiva measuring her student up and down. Shiva turned gracefully, pulled off her trench coat as she began to head to the door, "go change and meet me on the rooftop. You look like you could work off some steam. The least I could do is return the favor", she said before exiting the apartment.

Laurel's was taken aback at Shiva's words. That was as close to an apology she was going to get from her. She actually felt bad about using her as a punching bag and Shiva was right. The matter with Malcolm and Shiva's insinuations regarding her sister had her temper simmering just right underneath the surface. With a soft smile, she went to do as instructed.

A few minutes later, she met Shiva on the roof for a late sparring session, "this will have to be short. I have to work tomorrow," she said as she came out of the door that led to the rooftop. Shiva nodded at her words and the quickly began.

* * *

So, there it is. A few things, I am making the League as mean and nasty as they should be. That includes decimating populations to achieve the dream world of Ra's Al Ghul. This is the man who ordered a hit on Shiva's sister to lure her to the League. The LoA in my fic will not be soft. This also helps the decision to take on the look as dumb and stupid as it does in the show. I am also going to flesh out the relationship between the Dinahs due to me believing that it isn't completely fixed. I will bring in Helena soon and it's going to be based on lending a hand in taking down Ra's Al Ghul. Who by the way, will not be offering the throne to Oliver because no matter how hard this show tries he is not Batman. Also, yeah, the guy from the previous chapter is David Cain, Lady Shiva's baby daddy and that will be brought up.

P.S. she will get her canary cry.


	7. Chapter 7

I am terribly sorry about the long wait. I will try to stay on this story more from now on. I hope you all enjoy the read.

* * *

Laurel sat down in her office chair with a cup of coffee in hand. She stifled a yawn and took a sip of the hot beverage. Her training session with Lady Shiva had been short as asked but it was still draining. She didn't get enough sleep the prior night due to still feeling the effects of her injuries. That alone made it hard enough to sleep without everything that was looming over their heads keeping her up. She took an even longer sip of her coffee before buckling down and getting to work.

She already had been assigned to several cases in her short days being back. Considering her nightly activities, she needed to get as much done as possible while at work. She worked for hours on end and only left her desk once to meet up with the personnel who had been working on the case. Sunlight was waning when she felt her stomach grumble. That was when it hit her that she had worked straight through her lunch break. She decided to grab some dinner and then return to the office to do a little bit more work. Then, she would head home.

Laurel went out to a little diner that was walking distance from the D.A. office. On her way there, she bumped into a blonde woman in a leather jacket with a black bird that had yellow outlining on the front. Laurel turned towards the woman to apologize, "I'm terribly sorry", she said.

The woman smiled apologetically, "no, Ma'am. My mistake", she said in a country accent before turning away and continuing her journey. Laurel stood in her place on the sidewalk for a moment as she tried to place her face. The woman looked oddly familiar but Laurel couldn't place where she had seen her before. She decided to let it go and continued on her way.

While she was sitting in the diner and eating her meal, her phone ranged. She pulled it out of her purse and looked at the caller ID, it was from an unknown number. Against her better judgment, Laurel answered the phone, "Hello?"

"Meet me outside of your office building once you return", Nyssa ordered before promptly hanging up the phone. Laurel sat up rigidly in the booth. She quickly looked out the window for the assassin but saw no one. She let out a sigh. So much for a lunch break. Laurel paid for her meal and quickly made her exit. She walked briskly to the D.A, office all the while keeping a keen eye on her surroundings, her senses alert. Just as she was walking past an alleyway, a dark figure caught her eye. It came out of the shadows and grabbed for her. She was quicker and countered by grabbing the arm that reached for her and wrapping it up in her arm. She applied pressure to the elbow and pushed the assailant back into the wall in the alley.

Laurel looked the masked attacker in the eyes and was stunned by how lifeless and cold they were. Before the fight could continue further, Nyssa made her appearance at the other end of the alleyway. "Let him go", she commanded coolly. She then strutted to the pair, with her chin held high and her usual confident aura surrounding her.

Hesitantly, Laurel did as told, allowing the league member to join the Heir's side. Laurel then glared harshly at the other woman, "what do you want?"

"I want to know why you're running around parading as your sister", Nyssa replied with slight anger in her tone.

Laurel blinked in surprise before regaining her composure, "what the hell are you talking about?"

"There were reports of a blonde woman clad in leather", Nyssa began as she took a step closer towards Laurel. "You have injuries on your face and on your knuckles, along with heightened senses, and apparently some rather competent training," she listed with accusation.

Laurel opened her mouth to retort but was cut off by Nyssa, "do not lie to me", she said dangerously.

The lawyer looked down to the ground and heaved a sigh. No point in trying to hide it anymore. She looked back up at the assassin, "this city needs all the help it can get", she answered simply.

"I don't believe this all started due to the state of Startling City. This all started because of Sara", Nyssa visibly swallowed at Sara's name and Laurel could see the pain in her eyes. Laurel looked away momentarily as she felt a wave of anguish hit her as well. Right along with a sense of sympathy for the other woman.

"It did, sort of", she admitted.

"Then why haven't you done anything about  _him_?" Nyssa asked with venom, the anger very much visible on her face.

Laurel felt her own temper flare, "Nyssa, I told you it was complicated",

"What could possibly be so complicated that you won't bring Sara's murderer to justice?! You told me yourself that I must do whatever it takes,"

"You have no idea how much I want to kill him. But I can't", Laurel stressed.

"Why not?"

"Because of you and your father", Laurel fired back.

Nyssa stopped short at that, confused by the sudden accusation. Her brown eyes then narrowed in suspicion, "what does he have to do with any of this? And what are you accusing me of?"

"Why are you here in starling?"

Nyssa's confusion increased at this question as her eyebrows knitted together, "I' here for Malcolm Merlyn. What does that have to do with anything?",

Laurel tilted her head slightly, "you don't know about your father's plans?"

At this question, the League member accompanying Nyssa shifted slightly, which caught the eyes of both women. Nyssa turned to him and began to mutter to him in Arabic. Whatever his reply was seemed to displease the raven haired woman. Laurel watched the exchange with wary eyes, unsure about what was happening. After a few moments and exchanges, Nyssa turned back to the lawyer. "What are his plans?" Once again, the League member seemed to be uneasy,bringing Nyssa's attention back to him, "I will ask you again. What is your problem?" She questioned coldly.

Laurel studied him momentarily and then it came to her,"He knows but you don't", she said realization.

"I do not know what she's talking about", he interjected.

Before anything else could be said, Laurel's cell phone ranged. Laurel stepped away from the assassins and answered the call. She couldn't even get a syllable out before Lady Shiva's voice boomed through the line, "do not say another word. Get out of there". The phone line then died.

Laurel hung up her phone and turned back to the assassins who had been watching her. "The team needs me",

"What are my father's plans?"

* * *

Laurel's eyes flickered to the man beside Nyssa. Nyssa caught the eye movement and understood the signal. "I have to go", Laurel replied before stalking away.

Once she was gone, Nyssa turned her attention to the League member. Her eyes had a deadly glint to them, "what was she talking about?"

Just as Laurel expected, Lady Shiva was in her office. She sat perched on the edge of the desk with a disapproving scowl on her face. She didn't say anything and Laurel wasn't in the mood to receive the stern talking to that she knew was brewing inside her mentor. Laurel sat in her chair and began to finish the work she had planned for the day. As she did, Shiva remained silent and with her back still to her student. The only sounds within the office was the air conditioner, the scribbling of a pen, and the occasional shuffle of paper.

Once Laurel finished her work, she placed everything where it needed to be, whether it be in her drawers or in her suitcase. After that, she gathered her things to leave. When she stood from her office chair was the moment Shiva finally addressed her. The lethal woman slid off the desk and rigidly turned to her student, "what you did was beyond foolish. You told her far too much", she said her voice stern.

"I thought-"

"You revealed information that no one outside of the League was supposed to know. Now she will go back to her father and you have put everyone including yourself, under the radar of the League", Shiva cut in sharply.

"I don't think she's going to talk to her father",

"What could possibly give you that notion?"

"If she doesn't know then there's a reason why. I doubt she's going to bring that to light, knowing something she isn't supposed to",

"You should follow that line of thinking",

Laurel smirked humorlessly at the jab, "I admit that I deserve that. But what was I supposed to say?"

"Anything besides the truth, Little Bird,"

Laurel scoffed, "she would have read me a mile away. Did you hear her? Her exact words were "do not lie to me". Her tone told me that it would have turned ugly if I even thought about lying to her,"

Shiva frowned, "you can't lie?"

"Not to someone like her",

Shiva gave in and eased her anger at Laurel. But something else was bothering her. "You and I both know why you were so eager to tell her so much. Because Sara was her beloved you've deemed her trustworthy".

Laurel shrugged her shoulders, "Sara had to love her for a reason",

Shiva's gaze was harsh as she regarded her student. To Laurel, it was borderline disgust. "Sentimentality is a weakness. Especially for you,"

Laurel gave her a smile decorated with sarcasm "duly noted", she wasn't about to be lectured about the merits of caring about people from someone like Shiva.

Shiva glared at her momentarily but didn't respond. She then sharply turned and made her way to the exit without checking to see if Laurel was following. Idly, Laurel followed suit and they went home to get ready for an on-the-field training session.

* * *

"Which one should you attack first?" Shiva murmured softly to Laurel.

Laurel studied the group of perpetrators intently. She then smirked as the answer to the question hit her. "No one, yet. I need to gain the advantage first. They're armed," she then turned to her mentor to see her looking at her with something that made Laurel's heart swell with self pride.

"Correct. How do you plan to do that?"

Laurel looked around at the surrounding environment. They were near the docks with crates surrounding them. Shiva and herself we're currently perched on a crate, watching eight men trying to smuggle out women for trafficking. There were a few street lamps giving them light and without it, they would be bathed in the darkness. Laurel would have the advantage there. But that would only be momentarily and she would risk them shooting wildly into the darkness, possibly hitting one of them women. That's when the idea hit her. She pulled out a sonic bomb from her utility belt and threw it down below. The high pitched noise took out the light and disorientated everyone.

Laurel pulled one of her tonfas and quickly jumped on the attack. She quietly jumped down behind one bewildered assailant and swiftly hit him over the head with her weapon, rendering him unconscious. She then quickly picked up his fallen gun and took it apart. She threw a few pieces and hit some of the other men. She then immediately did a flying knee on another man who was preparing to shoot. The hit was enough to knock him unconscious. She did away with his gun by kicking it off the dock and into the water.

One man ran up behind her but she sensed him coming. She ducked his hit and threw back an elbow, hitting him directly in the nose. Next, Laurel grabbed him by the arm and judo threw him over her shoulder. Once he was on the ground, she kept hold on his arm and put pressure on his elbow and broke it. She ignored his cries of pain and went to take care of the others. One man was crawling on the ground grabbing for his weapon, he came close to grabbing it but Laurel interrupted his search with a blindsiding soccer kick. Four down and four more to go.

Laurel then began to get sloppy. She looked at the women who were stuffed in a cargo crate and became distracted momentarily. A hit to the back of the head blindsided her. Her vision was blurry but she forced herself to roll over to her back and focus on her attacker. She waited on him to make the first move as he stood before her smirking with a metal bar in hand. "Got you, bitch",

Shiva was still perched in her place on the cargo crate. Apprehension was welling up within her but she didn't interfere, yet. Laurel still had time to recover. But if she didn't bounce back fast, then she was going to step in and stop her from getting killed. Shiva looked over to the other men and saw that they were once again armed at the ready. "Sloppy, Little Bird", she muttered quietly to herself before jumping down and stepping into the scuffle.

The man standing before Laurel tried to stomp on her. Laurel adverted his kick by twisting of the ground and grabbing his leg. She put him in an knee bar and applied pressure. She broke his leg without a second thought. As she was getting up, she noticed that Lady Shiva had already did away with two others and now had the final perp in a choke hold. Laurel watched in horror as Shiva snapped his neck, killing him.

"Why did you do that?!" Laurel asked angrily as she marched over to her teacher.

Shiva regarded her with a cool expression, "that was very sloppy. I had to interfere to keep you from getting killed",

"you didn't have to kill him,"Laurel stated angrily.

Shiva blinked at her unfazed, "why does it matter? They were meaningless",

"They were?" Laurel asked incredulously. She then looked at the other men Shiva had taken out and realized they weren't breathing. She ran a gloved hand down her face trying to collect her thoughts. This was bad. Very bad. "They were people. Scum sure but that didn't give you the right to kill them. We can't play judge, jury, and executioner",

"That is such weakness", Shiva said with an eye roll.

"Weak? I'm weak because I'm not a killer like-"

"Sara?" Shiva cut in smirking mockingly. "You know, the League deals with these types all the time. She would have did away with them without a thought,"

Laurel's green eyes flashed angrily and her jaw twitched, "do not mention Sara ever again", she growled.

Shiva's dark humor melted away and a dangerous glint entered her eye. She then took dangerous a step towards Laurel. Her gaze became harsh enough to make Laurel second guess her words and shift slightly. "or what?" Shiva asked threateningly.

Laurel didn't reply. She instead tore her eyes away from Shiva all the while trying to stifle down her anger. She went and checked on the women that were being held in the crate. Once she reached them, she plastered a friendly smile on her face, "you're safe now. Go home", she told them. They all immediately scurried out of the crate and made a beeline out of the docks. Laurel still stood in her position in front of the crate as she took a deep breath, forcing herself to relax. She then turned and went to pick up her tonfa.

As she did so Shiva called after her, "you are so sensitive over her. The mere mention of Sara causes emotion to cloud your judgment". Laurel ignored her and rolled her eyes. As though Shiva had room to talk. Laurel remembered quite well what had happened when her sister was mentioned by Tatsu. That had been quite a surprise to Laurel, Shiva having a sister. It made her more human.

"We must continue your training for tonight after that awful display of combat,"Shiva commented deadpanned. Laurel winced and nodded. That was an awful performance, she would be dead if Shiva hadn't interfered.

"What are we going to do next?"

* * *

"Now this time, keep yourself aware of your environment and what everyone is doing. That is where you went wrong. Do not get distracted ", Shiva ordered sternly and quietly. As usual, Laurel nodded in acceptance of the order and concentrated on the men below. She formulated her plan of attack and decided to utilize the environment more this time around. Surely, that would work with armed opponents. As she was thinking, Shiva spoke up again, "perhaps this time you can handle the situation yourself and I won't have to intervene and handle things my way", she said slyly. Laurel stiffened at her words but didn't respond. She was going to show her up in battle.

Heaving in a breath, she quietly made her way down to the alley below. When she made to the last level of the fire escape, she pulled out another sonic bomb and threw it onto the armored truck the crooks were trying to break into. The screeching sound once again made the men cover their ears. With them distracted, Laurel jumped down and went on the attack.

This time around, she moved faster than she did before and used everything to her disposal. She used her tonfas, the armory truck, and even a window of a building. All the while keeping a keen eye on each and every adversary. In no time, she had dispersed of them all and stood alone with her tonfas in hand. She was breathing deeply out of breath and began to feel dizzy. She tried to shake it off but it only became stronger. So much so that she began to lose her balance. Before she could hit the ground, a pair of strong arms grabbed her. She was placed gently on the ground and looked up to the blurred image of Lady Shiva's face.

Shiva stared down at Laurel and concentrated on her eyes. They were unfocused and were not dilated. Based on those observations and Laurel's dizziness, Shiva would bet that she was suffering from a concussion. A rather bad one at that. She did take a bad hit to the head at the smacked her lightly on the cheek to get her to focus, "listen to me, Little Bird. You have a concussion and you must stay awake, understand?" Laurel attempted to blink away the fog covering her brain and nodded. With that, Shiva scooped up her student into her arms bridal style and took her home.

* * *

Over the next few weeks, Laurel took it easy due to her concussion. There was no more outings at night and there was no more sparring between her and Shiva. Shiva had restricted her to very light training that consisted of practicing with her tonfas and some strength and conditioning. She went to work as usual and some of her cases began to go to trial. Everyone was still working and plotting on how to take Ra's down and how to stop him from obliterating several major cities within the country. Laurel hadn't heard from Nyssa since that night in the alley. She half wondered if Nyssa told her father what she knew and ended up paying the price but shook the thought off. That scenario didn't seem likely to her. Though, part of her hoped that if Nyssa did say something that she hadn't paid the price for it. Ra's didn't seem like the type that was above hurting his own daughter.

A part of taking it easy meant keeping stress levels low. That meant no interactions with her father outside of work for a little while. Laurel also strived to put herself around people who put her at ease and wouldn't get her blood pumping in any way. She made sure to stay clear of any places she thought Malcolm Meryln and spent her free time with very few people that being Roy, Tatsu, Felicity, Ted, and occasionally Diggle when he wasn't busy being a father and a husband. Shiva had a tendency to put her on edge and a habit of disappearing to God knows where. Laurel didn't feel it was her place to ask. She also strived to go to AA meetings on a regular basis.

At the moment, Laurel was working on a bag after a long day in court. The detectives working the case made a royal screw up and it effected her case negatively. The evidence was thrown out and more than likely, the perp was walking away as a free man. Needless to say, she had some pumped up aggression to work off.

"You have some crisp boxing", a voice said. Laurel turned to see that it was Tatsu who had joined her on the roof.

Laurel smiled at the compliment and went back to hitting the bag, "Thanks. I owe it all to a good teacher", she said in between punches.

"Shiva taught you boxing?" Katana questioned as she leaned against the ledge near where Laurel was.

"No. A boxer by the name of Wildcat did", Laurel replied. She then stopped and looked at Tatsu, giving Katana her undivided attention. "Not that I don't want the company but what brings you here?" she asked as she wiped sweat from her brow with a wrapped hand.

"Have you seen Nyssa as of late?" the swordswoman asked with hesitation.

Laurel eyed her strangely, "no. Why do you ask, Tatsu?"

The woman looked down and seemed to be gathering her courage to answer. She looked back up at Laurel and sighed, "I was wondering whether or not she could give my husband a pardon from the League. She is the Heir after all",

Laurel looked at her with disbelief, "you really think that she's going to give him one?"

"She gave your sister one didn't she?"

"It took my Sara herself for that to happen", Laurel shook her head and looked at Tatsu apologetically, "I'm sorry Tatsu but I don't see that happening. Even if I did ask her",

Tastu bowed her head and sighed dejectedly, "then how do we get him out?" She asked quietly.

Laurel came and leaned beside her on the ledge and looked at her sympathetically, "I think that he must want out himself if he's ever going to be free. He went there willingly and he must choose to leave willingly", she answered softly.

"He won't. After our son died, Maseo just left. He was so broken and filled with shame, guilt and self-hatred", Tastu murmured, still not looking at Laurel.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I know how it feels to see someone you love choose a dark path," Laurel said quietly. Or for yourself to go down one she thought silently to herself. What an awful year that had been.

That sat in silence then with Tatsu staring down at the ground depressingly and Laurel trying to think of a way to comfort or cheer her up. Finally, an idea hit her. She nudged the swordswoman softly on the arm, getting her attention. Tatsu looked at her curiously and Laurel offered her a smile, "rather than mope here on the roof, I will take you out somewhere to get your mind off things",

"Like to a bar?" Tatsu questioned with an arched eyebrow.

"No!" Laurel objected strongly, fiercely shaking her head. That was most certainly out of the question. "Trust me, alcohol is not the best option to deal with your problems. I meant out to eat or to the movies. Just something to cheer you up, it's up to you but no bar",

Tatsu eyed her weirdly at that but nodded nonetheless, "alright", she answered quietly.

Laurel smiled at her brightly, "great. Just let me jump in the shower and then we'll head out",

* * *

There's the chapter. If you know who that woman was that Laurel bumped into please feel free to comment on it. Also, I had planned on having Laurel end up with Ted but I've kinda changed my mind. I was wondering who you guys think she should end up with. I'm open to practically everyone except Oliver cause he treats her like shit.

Please leave a comment telling me what you think and how I can improve.


	8. Chapter 8

“So, you wanted to come here again?” Laurel questioned as she bit into a french fry. Tatsu nodded silently as she stared down at her plate. Just as Laurel had promised, they went to the place of Tatsu’s choice, that being Big Belly Burger. She still looked solemn and wasn’t talking much since they got there. Laurel decided to prod her a little to get her to open up but she wasn’t having much luck. Tatsu seemed to be more interested in staring depressingly at the plate she barely touched.  “Are you sure you made the right choice? You don’t seem to be all that into your food”,

Tatsu heaved a sigh, “I apologize, Laurel. I am not the best company right now”, she said, bringing her eyes up to Laurel’s face.

“It’s okay. You can brood all you want but try to eat a little. If any place specializes in comfort food it’s here”,

Tatsu took Laurel’s advice and picked up her philly cheesesteak. She eyed for a moment before taking a small bite of it. It was delicious but she wasn’t sure if it made the heavy stone weighing on her chest any lighter. She was certain the only thing capable of that was reuniting with Maseo, whom she missed terribly.

“How did you and Shiva meet?” Laurel asked suddenly, getting Tatsu’s attention again.

“We were students of the same master years ago. During that time, she went by the name Sandra”, Tatsu answered.

“Was she cold as she is now?”

Tatsu shook her head, “she had a sister named Carolyn as you know. They were inseparable and the other half of the other. When Carolyn died, she took Shiva’s humanity with her”,

Laurel felt a wave of sympathy hit her for Shiva. Loss had a way of destroying people and leaving them in shambles. Shiva seemed to have lost her soul and never got it back. Or maybe even not cared to get it back. “That’s why she hates emotional attachments. The one she had destroyed her”,

“It did. From her, I was able to learn the dangers of loss and what it can turn one into. I made certain that I wouldn’t become what she is”,

“How did you cope with the loss of a child? Most people would crumble completely from that”, Laurel said softly. What she didn’t add was that she believed that she herself wouldn’t recover from that.

“I went home for some time. Then, I went from place to place all over the world with Soultaker”, Tatsu answered before taking another bite of her sandwich.

“Soultaker?” Laurel questioned confused.

Yes, Soultaker. It is my katana that has been passed in my family for generations. I had planned on giving it to my son, Akio”, Tatsu finished solemnly.

Laurel pressed on the subject of the sword

At that, a small smile crossed Tatsu’s features, “you would never believe me”,

“Try me”, Laurel prodded as she leaned forward onto the table, her curiosity aroused.

Rather than a giving Laurel an explanation, Tatsu’s smile widened and she shook her head, “that is a story for another time”.

“The curiosity is going to eat away at me. Tell me, please”, Laurel begged with a charming grin.

Tatsu still smiling wilted and gave in, “alright”, she said with feigned exasperation, “it is called Soultaker because it can take the souls of those it slays”,

Laurel’s face fell and she frowned skeptically, “really?”

“Really”, Tatsu assured. Still, Laurel didn’t appeased, “I’m telling the truth”, Tatsu said defensively.

“Sure”, Laurel said sarcastically taking a swig of her milkshake.

That got a short laugh from the swordswoman. That made Laurel feel a bit of a thrill, getting a woman who lost so much to laugh a little. “I told you that you wouldn’t believe me”,

“Yeah, well I wasn’t expecting you to go all supernatural on me. What are you a Winchester?” Laurel asked jokingly.

“Who are the Winchesters?” Tatsu asked confusedly with her brows furrowed. Laurel smiled at that. Droning on and on about a show that's been on for the past decade would help take Tatsu’s mind of her troubles.

* * *

 

“That show doesn’t sound like something that I would enjoy”, Tatsu said with a small smile as she and Laurel trekked up the stairs to Laurel’s apartment.

“Well, it has gone down in quality over the years and my favorite character was killed off years ago”, Laurel replied.

“That being?” Tatsu asked curiously.

“Ruby, at least when she was blonde”, Laurel answered. They had now reached the door to Laurel’s apartment where Tatsu hesitated. Seeing her reluctance, Laurel reassured her. “I highly doubt she’s here, Tatsu. She’s been disappearing from time to time since I got my concussion”,

“Are you sure? I do not want to cause a disturbance in your home”, Tatsu said.

“It’s alright”, Laurel said before opening the door. She was correct in that Lady Shiva was not in the apartment but both women came to the picture of Thea sitting on her couch in the living room. Laurel regarded her with surprise, “how the hell did you get in?”

Thea smiled at her meekly, “Malcolm taught me”,

A scowl crossed Laurel’s features at the mention of her sister’s killer (and partially at how everyone could manage to get into her apartment). Tatsu noticed her change in attitude and felt that it was best to make her exit.

“I will leave you two to talk” she said respectfully. She made a move to leave the apartment but was stopped by a soft hand on her shoulder. She looked at Laurel questioningly.

“You don’t have to leave, Tatsu”, Laurel told her.

Before Tatsu could respond, Thea spoke up again, “actually, Laurel, I was hoping that we could talk in private”, she said, as she stood up from the couch.

Seeing her troubled demeanor, Laurel nodded solemnly. She bid farewell to Tatsu and left her to see herself out as she sat on the couch, expecting Thea to join her. But the younger Queen sibling opted to stand tensely, giving Laurel a pained look that worried the lawyer.

“Thea, are you okay?” Laurel asked concerned.

Thea looked down to the ground before responding, “Do you blame me?”

Laurel knew what she was talking about immediately and stood and took the younger woman by the shoulders, “absolutely not. What could possibly make you think that?”

“I feel this distance between us lately. You were gone for months on end and we’ve barely seen each other,” Thea explained solemnly.

Laurel looked at her slightly bewildered, “we’ve spent time with each other for the time I've been sidelined”,

“We have but it's different. I feel so detached from you and Ollie feels it too, he's just too proud to say anything. It's like you're here but your still off somewhere else”,

Without thinking about it Laurel came to a decision, “your brother and I are really on shaky ground right now. I will not tolerate him trying to control my life. But you on the other hand,” Laurel continued on with a smile, “I'm going to strive to kill whatever void you feel between us, okay?”

Thea smiled and nodded.

“I'm sorry if I've been distant. There's a lot going on right now and I guess I've been mentally preoccupied. But I'm all yours until I'm clear to get back out there,” Laurel promised.

Thea’s smiled brightened at the promise, “great. Does that mean I can crash here for the night? Oliver is moving Malcolm into our place for safety reasons”,

Laurel shook her head in disgust at Oliver’s persist to protect Sara’s murderer. She then agreed to open her home for the night, “sure. The guest room is open for now. Shiva has a habit for disappearing for days at a time”,

“Thank you, Laurel. I can’t stomach spending time with him. Just training with Malcolm makes my skin crawl”, Thea said.

“That’s understandable,” Laurel sighed tiredly as she sat down on the couch. She looked up at Thea expectantly and patted the seat next to her. Getting the hint, Thea took the place next to Laurel. “Laurel and Thea time starts right now”, Laurel declared as she clicked the T.V. on. The tone she used pulled a short laugh out of Thea, who enjoyed the rest of the night with her surrogate big sister.

* * *

 

Lady Shiva, David Cain, and Malcolm Merlyn stood in an abandoned warehouse that used to be a stronghold for the League of Assassins. The former billionaire eyed the pair of parents warily and knowingly, “what do you two have up your sleeve?”

David smirked at him while Shiva raised a single eyebrow in question, “what gives you that idea, Al Sa–Her?” she questioned coolly.

“I find it out of character for you two to want to play hero”, Malcolm replied.

“We have our agendas and you have yours”, David said simply.

“Does Laurel know of your ‘agenda’?” Malcolm questioned, his eyes shifting between the two assassins.

“It is none of her concern”, Shiva said in a tone that was meant to kill the conversation.

“You might want to tell her that because she will pick up on whatever you two have going on. From what I’ve heard she was the only one to figure out Brother Blood”,

“I will worry about my student. You worry about your own”, Shiva said shortly.

“Fair enough. They’re ready as they will ever be”, Malcolm said, referring to Oliver, Roy, and Thea. “How is your Little Bird?”

“As of right now, she has a concussion and it would be dangerous for her to take part in any strenuous training. But she is a very fast learner that has an excellent trainer,” Shiva replied.

“But is she ready?” Malcolm emphasized.

“She has… shortcomings”, Shiva answered slowly as she struggled to find the right phrase.

“She has no killer instinct whatsoever”, David reiterated.

“Give her one”,

“We don’t have time for that”, Shiva replied. Malcolm’s jaw twitched in irritation. Going up against the League left no room for mercifulness and acting humanely. In the end, it was only going to put Laurel and possibly the entire group in a precarious position. 

“Then you better find a way to make up for her weakness. And Quick”, Malcom barked before making his exit. Not liking his tone, Shiva glowered at his form as he went, but didn’t say anything.

The last two remaining assassins didn’t speak until they heard the resounding slam of the metal door, marking Malcolm’s exit. “He’s right”, David commented.

Shiva slowly exhaled, trying to get a hold of her irritation, “Little Bird is none of his concern, nor yours”,

“She is if you ever want to see our Cassandra”,

* * *

 

The next morning, Laurel had a nice breakfast with Thea before heading off to work. Which meant going to court for a homicide case. The evidence wasn’t 100% solid but Laurel could feel it in her gut that the defendant was guilty. It was going to take all of her best efforts and skills to put this guy away. He had got himself the best pro bono lawyer that money could buy, all the while sitting atop as a one percenter. What made it worse, was that he killed a sex worker and juries had a history of being none too caring about people in that line of work.

A handsome, white, rich man killed someone that much of society would deem as worthless. But to Laurel, murder was murder and all life had worth and money or status did not make anyone above the law. She was going to ensure that he saw justice. Laurel ended up in a touch and gritty back and forth with the defense attorney. Truth be told, it was one of the most draining cases that Laurel had ever took on. This case was going to be a very long one. 

By the time court had called recess at the end of the day, Laurel was all but drained. She sighed tiredly as she packed her things away into her suitcase getting ready to head out. As she was exiting the court, she ran into a familiar face in Nyssa Al Ghul. She was far too tired for a confrontation such as their last one, and ended up regarding the assassin with her defenses down. “What are you doing here, Nyssa?” she asked tiredly.

“I just came to watch you. This is a rather high profile case and it would be quite interesting to see you hand out justice in the day time”, Nyssa replied simply.

Laurel sighed and rubbed the base of her neck, trying to fight off the headache she could feeling coming on for the past hour, “well, if you don’t need anything, I will be on my way”, she then made a move to go past the assassin but Nyssa blocked her, looking sheepish as she did.

“I also wanted to talk, about things”, Nyssa said. By the look on her face, Laurel could pick up on the importance of the conversation that she wanted to have. Still, she was tired and not in the mood.

“Now is not really the time”, Laurel answered before trying to move pass again. As before, Nyssa blocked her way with her own body.

“It’s about my father”, she said with some urgency. Laurel stopped short and looked at her surprised.

“What about him?”

* * *

 

“So you know all that he’s been up to”. Laurel said tiredly as she leaned back into the couch. They had opted that this conversation needed to be done in private and went back to Laurel’s apartment, which was luckily empty.

“I do. My father can be rather…… extreme in his ways”, Nyssa replied from her place, beside Laurel, on the couch.

“I’d call mass murder a bit more than extreme,” Laurel said as she rubbed her temples. That headache she had been trying to fight off was now going full force. “How do you feel about this?”

“I do not like it,” Nyssa admitted, “killing innocents to reach a world of purity it’s…..” she trailed off as she tried to find the right word.

“Wrong?” Laurel offered.

That got her a grim look from the assassin, “the will of Ra’s Al Ghul is never wrong”,

“That’s highly debatable, Nyssa”,

Nyssa frowned and shook her head, “you wouldn’t understand. Most outsiders don’t”,

“You’re right, I don’t understand you assassins and your ways”, Laurel said with a smile, her mind wondering to Lady Shiva.

“You talk as though interacting with assassins is a common occurrence”, Nyssa commented.

Laurel’s smile widened, “I’ve had my fair share”, she answered mystically.

Nyssa eyed her suspiciously and couldn’t help but give her a small smile, “that’s rather interesting. Did that occur during those months you disappeared off the face of the planet?”

Laurel’s frowned, “how do you know about that?”

“The League has eyes and ears everywhere”, Nyssa stopped for a beat “you didn’t answer my question”,

Laurel hesitated as she thought what would be the best way to answer. She didn’t want to give away too much that would lead Nyssa on the path of discovering Lady Shiva. “I guess you could say that”, was what she settled for.

“Where did you go?”

“Asia”, Laurel answered simply.

“Try being a little more specific”, Nyssa said, prodding for more information.

“Why are you so curious?” Laurel inquired with a teasing smirk.

“Because it’s strange that a lawyer now has all of these skills to go out and fight the criminal world of Starling City”, Nyssa answered.

Laurel simply smiled and got up off the couch. “Can I get you anything?” she asked as she went to the kitchen. She intended to make herself a cup of coffee to help with her headache. She didn’t feel comfortable putting any drug beyond caffeine in her body. That included pain killers.

“Water would be fine”, Nyssa called after her. In the kitchen, Laurel quickly made herself a cup of coffee and poured Nyssa a glass of water. When she came back to the living room, she saw the Nyssa had moved off the couch and was staring at the photos on the mantle, particularly the ones of Sara. Laurel’s grips on the cups tightened considerably. She took a breath and slowly approached the assassin.

“Here you go”, she said softly once she reached her, offering her the cup of water. Nyssa took her time in responding and when she did finally turn to Laurel, the emotional turmoil that she was feeling was evident in her eyes. She took the cup before returning her attention to the pictures. Laurel looked at them as we'll and felt a sharp pang cut her right through the heart. She swallowed the lump the was beginning to form in her throat and spoke, “ I miss her too”, she said, her voice wavering slightly. Nyssa didn't respond verbally but Laurel did hear the intake of breath she took and how shaky it was when she exhaled. For a moment in time, the two women stood silently by each other stifled by the hole Sara left in their lives.

The moment was interrupted when Laurel’s phone ranged, pulling them both from their thoughts of Sara. Laurel spared a quick glance to Nyssa before going to answer the phone. She took a shuddering breath and brought the retriever to her ear, “hello?”

“You’re associating with her once again?” Shiva’s questioned, her voice showing some exasperation.

Laurel sighed, “Relax”, she paused and glanced in the way of Nyssa who was staring at her curiously, “Sandy. Its fine”, she continued on.

Shiva caught on to why she used the name but she still didn't like it. She stopped in her tracks upon the roof in which she was pacing that was right across from Laurel’s apartment. It gave her the perfect view of the window in the living room. “If you ever call me that outside of this phone call I will cause some damage you won't walk away from”,

Laurel chuckled at the threat, “message received. What are you calling for?”

“We’re having a final meeting tonight and you need to be there. Get rid of her”, Shiva then abruptly hung up the phone.  

“Nyssa Al Ghul must be eliminated”, David Cain said from behind.

“I know”, Shiva murmured. But that knowledge did not stop the uneasiness welling up in her. Killing Nyssa was not going to go over well with Laurel and for whatever reason, that bothered her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is chapter eight. The big shoe down with the League will most likely happen in the next chapter or the one after it. They are going to need all of the help that they are going to get so i plan on bringing some others in to assist the group. Please leave a review telling me what you think and how I can improve.


	9. Chapter 9

Laurel ducked, barely making the swinging bow miss her. She felt another presence coming from behind her and reacted by throwing a spinning back kick, catching the assailant rather hard in the stomach. Roy hit the ground with a thump and looked up a Laurel in surprise. She on the other hand was not paying attention as she battled with Thea. It was fairly even until Thea caught Laurel off guard and dropped down, sweeping her off her feet with a kick aimed to her legs. Though she had hit the ground, Laurel did not let that defer her, she immediately twisted her body and attacked one of Thea's legs going for a knee bar. She nearly had the submission locked in but Thea was able to fight out of it. Their trainers, that being Lady Shiva, Malcom, and Oliver watched on, along with Felicity, Diggle, Cain, and Tatsu.

"Laurel has gotten really good", Felicity said impressed.

"Of course she did. I trained her", Shiva remarked cockily. Felicity looked at her weirdly but did not respond. Laurel wasn't kidding when she said Shiva was arrogant. The computer genius turned her attention back to the three way fight going on to see Roy taking Thea on. Thea, whom had her bow in hand swung at him as she did at Laurel a few moments prior, once again missing. They went back and forth for a few moments until Laurel rejoined the fray. Using her right leg to throw kicks at both of them. She was able to hit Thea with a kick but Roy was able to grab her leg and sweep her other one with one of his, making her hit the ground with a thud.

However, he ended up making the mistake of standing in between her legs, placing himself within her open guard. That gave her sweeps and submissions to attack with. She reached down and grabbed for the ankles of his pants leg but only ended up with one due to Roy viciously pulling one leg away. Laurel used this one grip to turn this into a single leg takedown which was successful. Before she could take advantage, Thea took her from behind with a rear necked choke. Thea's bicep cut off the airway of Laurel's throat, cutting off her oxygen supply completely. The choke became tighter but Laurel being the stubborn woman that she was, refused to tap. Digging deep, Laurel reached up and grabbed the hand that was pressing her head down into the bicep choking her. That eased some of the pressure and allowed Laurel to turn into Thea where she threw a knee that landed flush to the body. It knocked the wind out of the younger Queen and sent her to the ground.

Before Laurel could advance on the attack, footsteps cold be hard coming down the steps that led to the secret hideout of the Arrow. Everyone stopped what they were doing, their attention drawn to the intruder. Laurel waited breathlessly for the intruder to be revealed. Her heart was hammering in her chest, the adrenaline from the sparring session now increased tenfold. The prospect of everything being revealed petrified her, they would all most certainly be ruined.

The intruder revealed to be Huntress, Helena Bertinelli. She greeted everyone with a smirk, finding humor in their reactions. "Helena?" Laurel whispered in shock.

Diggle on the other hand became hostile (understandably), "what the hell are you doing here?"

Her smirk grew into a Cheshire like smile, "your buddies at ARGUS worked a little magic to get me out. They said you're having trouble with the League of Assassins, whatever the hell that is",

"They're allowed to do that?" Felicity asked of no one in particular.

Helena gave a nonchalant shrug, "apparently. Otherwise I wouldn't be here", she answered saucily, earning herself a frown from the hacker. "So, what's the problem?"

It took some time but eventually they were able to get Helena up to speed. They explained the overall plan to her, which was that everyone was going to be broken into teams and assigned to a specific city that Ra's was targeting. After much debate, Helena was assigned to Starling City, placing her with Laurel and Shiva. Roy, David Cain, and Diggle were to go to Metropolis; The Flash was to handle Central City; Thea, Oliver, and Malcolm were to go to Gotham.

They opted to take a defensive approach rather than an offensive one (that being go to Nanda Parbat), due to having low numbers in people. Ra's had weapons at the ready that were going to disintegrate the cities, turning them completely into ash. There were these militaristic devices that were to be launched into the air and once they were, a chemical would be released that would disintegrate everything and everyone within the city limits. Alongside with that, there would be foot soldiers on ground who would insure that no one escaped (losing their own lives in the process but they were ready to die for the cause). They would perhaps even slay some people themselves.

Hearing that she was to be teamed up with Laurel, Helena gave the lawyer a sly smile, "does this make us girlfriends?"

Laurel rolled her eyes at the question that was being asked again a year later, "Do you want it to?" she shot back, quirking her head and taking a step closer to Huntress.

Not backing down, Helena's smile widened, "well, look who got themselves a sense of humor",

Shiva then came over, ready to step in between them, sensing the tension, "stop it, Little Bird. You as well, Bertinelli", she ordered. Helena looked at her momentarily from the corner of her eye before looking back at Laurel.

"Is this your mommy?"

"I guess you can say that",

"Stop it", Shiva said stronger this time. With one more, hard stare in Helena's way, Laurel took heed to Shiva's word and backed away, going to sit on the other side of the Foundry away from Helena. Before going in the opposite direction, Helena sent her a wink. Shiva went and sat beside Laurel, "what is the history between you two?"

"She held me hostage once", Laurel answered.

Shiva looked pensive at that, as if contemplating something, "is there going to be any problems between you two?" she asked next.

"Not from me", Laurel said honestly, "I won't cause trouble if she doesn't"

Shiva nodded and hummed in understanding. She then got up and went over to Huntress. She regarded the woman with a serious, almost deadly look. Helena raised an eyebrow in question, "what?"

"There is much at stake and I do not have time to play babysitter between the two of you," she said evenly.

"So are you really going to play mother hen to her? Who are you anyway?"

"I am Lady Shiva and my connection to Little Bird is none of your concern. Just know that if you do not act accordingly and jeopardize this mission in any way, I will see to it that you pay for it dearly",

"Little Bird?" Helena questioned mockingly, "catching nickname", she said, now studying Shiva intently. She took in the aura of Shiva, her stature, and all the little things that revealed a lot of a person. She was able to pick up that Shiva was lethal. "I can play nice but doesn't mean I won't have a little fun with her",

"That fun better not turn into anything hostile",

"Gotcha. I'm not gonna be the cause of Starling being destroyed just because I'm screwing around with Laurel",

"Good,"

Everyone else, including Laurel watched the exchange between them intrigued. They all half expected a fight to break out and Oliver was gearing up to step in between the two women. But everything seemed to be okay when Shiva backed away and went back to Laurel. "There is still one more thing we need to talk about", she told the younger woman. Laurel looked at her questionably. "Your friendship with Nyssa", she said loud enough for everyone else to hear.

"You're friends with her?" Oliver asked with accusation.

"Better than buddying it up with Malcom", Felicity quipped. If Laurel hadn't been so annoyed with the mess that Shiva had caused or with Oliver's tone, she might have smiled. It was rather funny and she did feel better trusting Nyssa than Malcolm any day.

"We are not friends. I was just talking to her today", Laurel explained.

"About what?" Malcolm asked bitingly.

Laurel regarded him with cold eyes and nearly told him it was none of his damn business. But she thought better of it, "Nyssa told me that she knew about her father's plan now and it didn't seem to sit well with her",

"What do you mean she knows about it now?" Oliver asked.

"Weeks ago, I alluded to it towards her and she had no idea what I was talking about but the lackey that was with her did. Then today, she came to me and told me that she now knew about it. It doesn't seem like she likes it but to go against him", Laurel explained.

"You have been fraternizing with her behind our backs?" Malcolm asked with accusation.

Laurel folded her arms and rolled her eyes, "I have not been fraternizing with her. I've talked with her and that's it. And no, I haven't told her anything important about what we're doing",

"She's not going to stand against her father. Once he asks her to fight for him, to fight us, she will. Just as her father, she must be killed", David interjected calmly.

"No", Laurel protested.

"Regardless of the fact that she was screwing Sara she is still the enemy", Malcolm said pointedly.

"You son of a bitch", Laurel spat, taking a step towards him.

"Enough", Oliver barked. He then let out an exasperated sigh before continuing, "Let's not jump the gun here and put a target on her back. Laurel, you go talk to her again. She's more than likely at Sara's old secret hideout in the Glades. Hopefully, you can get her to see reason and to join our side,"

Laurel's face took a bitter look to it, "you want me to use Sara", she said quietly.

Oliver's jaw twitched, "whatever it takes,"

"If she does not see reason, which she won't, I will end her", Shiva spoke up. Laurel felt a concoction of uneasiness, urgency, and fear for Nyssa. She quickly gathered her things and left, eager to get the Heir to see reason.

* * *

"Nyssa?" Laurel called out softly, entering the hideout. The assassin stood at a table, sharpening a sword. She placed the weapon on the table and slowly turned to face the lawyer, confusion clouding her features.

"You're quite bold coming here by yourself", she commented.

"It's important", Laurel said, stepping further into the hideout.

"What is it?"

Laurel sighed and braced herself to ask for this huge favor, "I know this is asking for a lot but I need you to stand against your father on this",

Nyssa's brow furrowed and her jaw clenched, "you have some nerve marching in here and asking to betray my own blood", she said coldly.

Laurel swallowed, gathered her courage and continued, "I know this is huge-"

"Huge?" Nyssa cut in, "this is everything, Laurel, everything that I am",

"No, it's not. I saw it in your eyes, Nyssa. I know you don't want all of those people to die",

The struggle over the situation became apparent on Nyssa's face then. She turned her back to Laurel, her shoulders hunched, "I can't", she stressed. "The Heir of the Demon is what I am, all that I am. The will of Ra's Al Ghul is always right",

"I know you don't believe that, I saw the doubt in your eyes. You wouldn't have come to me earlier today if you didn't believe in your heart that this is wrong",

"Sara was my heart", Nyssa murmured, now looking down to the ground.

Laurel weighed her next words in her head, debating with herself whether or not she should say them. Reminding herself what was at stake, she decided to shoot. "What would she want you to do?" she asked softly.

Nyssa whipped around her eyes blazing with anger. Laurel nearly winced at the look in her eyes but she deserved it. Using Sara had been a low blow. "Get out", she growled. Laurel hesitated as she tried to think of the right words to say. "Now!"

Laurel jumped slightly before quickly leaving the hideout. When she was gone, Nyssa sat down, put her elbows on her knees and her face in her hands. She heaved a sigh. Her conscience had been eating away at her with this. Her mind shifted to Sara. Nyssa knew that Sara would want her to stand against her father but Sara was gone and the only thing she had in this world was the League and the birthright that came with it. Never had she thought of turning her back on her father. That was until it had been confirmed to her that he planned to kill so many innocent people. Truth be told, the thought of standing against him had been itching away at the back of her mind for weeks now and was stronger by tenfold now.

When laurel came the outside of the hideout, she saw Helena resting casually against a motorcycle. Laurel frowned upon seeing her, "what are you doing here?"

Huntress shrugged, "I just came to see where the proclaimed Heir to the Demon was staying. I figured someone who is practically a princess would have a nice pad",

Laurel smiled impishly, "says a billionaire princess. What are you doing here really?"

"Your mom wanted someone to keep an eye on you. She's not as trusting of this Nyssa as you are", Helena explained.

Laurel frown momentarily in confusion then it hit her that Helena was referring to Lady Shiva. "I wouldn't call her my mom", she said rolling her eyes.

"She watches after you like she's your mom",

"She's my mentor and my trainer and she acts nothing like a mother to me",

Helena looked skeptical at that, "anyway, I think I'm off babysitter duty. You seem to be alright, yes?"

"I'm quite alright," Laurel replied before walking past Helena to get to her car.

"I will let your mommy know", Helena called after her, straddling her bike.

* * *

Laurel sat outside the Starling City police station, trying to will herself to get out of the car. She had been assigned the duty of talking to her father and getting him to see reason to get the police force up in arms and prepared to face the League of Assassins. Her stomach churned nervously, her heart hammered in her chest, and quite frankly, she felt like turning the car around and putting as much space as possible between herself and the police station. Unfortunately, she didn't have the luxury or the time to act cowardly. The threat of Ra's was drawing closer by the minute and he could strike any day now. They believed the threat to be so imminent that everyone was to go to their assigned cities tonight.

On top of that, Laurel did feel a knawing need to talk to her father before the big show down occurred. Truth be told, she wasn't so certain that she was going to make it and she just needed to talk to him again. Even if she wasn't going to make it out alive she needed him to know that despite it all, she loved him and needed the reassurance that he didn't hate her. Laurel's eyes flickered to the chip on her key chain. Nearly a year sober.

Looking at her chip gave her a certain boost in confidence and courage, the extra push she needed to get out of the car. Throughout the entire walk to her father's office, she desperately gripped at her chip, as though getting strength from it. When she arrived to her office, she found him sitting at his desk, working on some paperwork. The door was open and she knocked on it quietly, "Dad?" she said softly.

His eyes looked up from his work, confusion first clouding them, then realization, and finally a distant coldness she had come to be familiar with over the past several months, "what do you want?"

His tone was cold enough to make her wince but still she powered through, "the Arrow needs your help soon. There's something big coming and if you- we don't act then the city will be destroyed completely",

Quentin's face formed into a sneer, "is this your way of trying to get me to talk to you?"

Laurel felt a pang of hurt at the insinuation and tried her best to not let it show but she wasn't very successful, "this has nothing to do with me or you. This is about the city and the League of Assassins is preparing to destroy this city and others,"

Quentin rolled his eyes, "Laurel, this is ridiculous", he scoffed.

"Dad, I'm serious. Ra's Al Ghul is going to leave this city in ashes and I'm begging you to put our differences aside and to focus on the big picture here. Continue to hate me all you want but you need to pull your head out of your ass and help save this city", Laurel said strongly. Emotion made her voice waver slightly and she hated herself for it. Having her peace said, Laurel turned to leave him to his thoughts and just prayed that he would listen to reason.

"I don't hate you", he said softly, stopping Laurel in her tracks.

She turned to look at him, her expression a mixture of hope and shock, "what?" she breathed.

Her father shook his head and repeated what he said, "I don't hate you, Laurel. You will always be my baby girl but what you did was unforgivable",

That was fair enough, Laurel thought. "Even so, you need to get your guys ready",

Quentin nodded, "give me a call when whatever this is happens",

"I will, I love you Daddy", Laurel said before heading out. Had she stayed a moment longer, she would have heard her father say he loved her as well. Laurel sighed as she stepped out of the police station. That had gone easier than expected. She felt some of the level of stress that was weighing on her shoulders leave her. It seemed to her that they made a little progress. It wasn't much but at least she now knew that he didn't hate her.

* * *

"May I?" Thea questioned, motioning to Tatsu's sword. The archer got a nod in permission. She picked up the sword and slowly began to maneuver with it, careful not to hit anyone or anything. "It has a nice feel to it. Very nice",

"Try not to poke somebody's eye out", Helena said coolly as she came down the steps into the Foundry. Her return took away the feel good mood and created one of uneasiness. They really didn't know what to expect from her, from the things she's done she seemed to be unstable to them. Her cold blue eyes shifted to Shiva who was sitting in the corner meditating, "your girl is fine. She left the place without a scratch". Without opening her eyes, Shiva gave a single nod in answer.

Helena let her eyes roam around the now nearly empty Foundry. Everyone was already off to their designated cities, leaving the Starling team behind to look after the city. Helena found a seat for herself and sat down, all the while trying to ignore the wary eyes on her. After some time though it was getting on her nerves. She met the shifty eyes of Thea and Felicity with a cold gaze, "What?"

They did not answer as they looked away. An uncomfortable silence fell upon them. One that was broken by Helena, "so, who place am I crashing at?"

"My place is full", Felicity answered quickly. Her roommate, Tatsu, gave her a side glance.

Helena smirked at Felicity in response. Her eyes then shifted to Thea. "I'm pretty sure your big brother would throw a tantrum that I do not want to sit through, so you're not an option. How about Laurel?"

Thea, Felicity, and Tatsu all looked to Lady Shiva. She still sat in her position in the corner meditating and did not react to Helena's suggestion. "She's Laurel's roommate", Tatsu spoke up, "you will have to take that up with her",

"The couch is available", Shiva said suddenly. She had been listening in after all.

Helena shrugged casually, "I'm not picky. I just spent the past year sleeping on a metal cot",

"We will just have to see what Laurel thinks about it. It is her home and we will respect that", Shiva replied. She now got up and joined the others in the center of the room. Helena nodded in agreement, she had no qualms in respecting Laurel's property. A while later, everyone dispersed from the Foundry and went their separate ways home.

When Helena and Shiva arrived to Laurel's apartment, they found Laurel sitting in the living room. She had the television on, paperwork on the couch and coffee table. Hearing the door open, she turned with the thought in mind of greeting Shiva but she instead came face to face with both women, Helen with a bag slug over her shoulder. Laurel slowly stood and frowned at the picture.

"I need a place to stay but if you don't want me, I will be out of here in the blink of an eye". Laurel thought it over. She looked to be rather uneasy with it all. "Don't worry, I don't bite", Helena assured. She then smirked mischievously, "unless you want me to",

Laurel rolled her eyes and gathered her papers, placing them neatly on the coffee table. "You'll have to take the couch," she said standing up.

"No problem", Helena replied, dropping her bag on the floor beside the couch. She then laid down on the couch and grabbed for the remote. Laurel went to the kitchen to get herself something to drink and Shiva followed after her.

"How did it go?" she questioned.

Laurel retrieved a glass from the cupboard and the orange juice carton from the fridge, "my dad is a phone call away if we need him", she answered as she poured herself a cup of orange juice.

"And what of Nyssa?"

Laurel froze and stiffened, "she seems to be on board", she said awkwardly.

"Little Bird", Shiva said disappointingly. She did not like being lied to, least of all by student.

Laurel sighed, placed her cup down, and looked at her teacher, "she seems to be on the fence at best,"

"That isn't good enough",

"Shiva, please,' Laurel begged, coming to stand before her, "Just wait and see what happens with Nyssa. I know she's struggling with this and she can make the right decision,"

"She isn't like you. The right decision to her is the League's way, just as your precious justice system is the right way for you",

"What I do at night goes against the justice system. Sometimes, our beliefs change to do what's right and I can see it happening in Nyssa,"

Shiva thought for a moment before relenting, "if she shows even a sign of picking up a weapon against us-"

"You do what you have to",

Shiva gave Laurel a nod before leaving the kitchen. Laurel let out a shaky breath and just prayed that she was right and Nyssa would choose to stand with them.

* * *

THe huge showdown is most certainly happening next chapter. Here, we can see a bit of a all female team for, eh? ;) Please leave a review telling me what you think and how can I improve


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